


Heroes, Flashbulbs, and Bears

by KCAndrews



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Aged-Up Character(s), Alya Césaire Is The Best, Alya Césaire Ships It, Angst with a Happy Ending, Consensual Sex, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Identity Reveal, L - Freeform, Light Angst, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Mentioned Alya Césaire and Nino Lahiffe, Minor Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Oral Sex, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, References to Depression, Romantic Fluff, Safe Sane and Consensual, Sex, Shameless Smut, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, canonverse, miraculous - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2020-10-25 17:03:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20727722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KCAndrews/pseuds/KCAndrews
Summary: Marinette is a "professional paid intern", or as she called it, a go-fer. Not exactly what she had in mind when she started working for the Agreste Fashion line. But, it paid the bills and got her foot into the fashion industry, so she couldn't complain. On occasion, she even got to work with Adrien Agreste, Gabriel Agreste's model son. He was also good friend, and long ago crush from high school.Adrien still modeled for his father. Even though protecting the city of Paris with Ladybug was his real life ambition, it wasn't like Adrien would ever be able to stray far away from fashion. His father would simply not allow it. Being the heir to all things Agreste, Adrien put in his time, but never second longer than he ever needed to.One particular photo shoot lands Marinette the title of Adrien's handler for the day. On set drama and a zillion camera flashes later lead the duo to reconnect in the best of ways while working so closely together.





	1. Chapter One

Chat was lonely. It wasn’t a new feeling. He was alone often. As Adrien, he spent more time alone than he did with any other living being, aside from Plagg that is. But it’s not like Plagg could fill the aching loneliness that was creeping in around him from all sides.

  
He had his friends that he’d met in school and all of the acquaintances he’d met from modeling over the years, but it wasn’t like he wanted open up to Nino or Kim about his loneliness and sadness and his unrequited love for Ladybug. He desperately wanted to be normal. He didn’t want his friends to feel sorry for him, oh, poor little rich boy…son of Gabriel Agreste… how can he have it all and still be depressed…. Whaaaa. He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes. Sometimes the depth of his self-loathing amazed even himself.

  
Instead he just shut up and pushed through. He powered through photo shoots that took every ounce of his dignity and emotional well-being. He powered through akuma attacks that always left him exhausted and sore. He powered through work outs and bookings and running errands. He was just tired and if he sought out help, he worried about what the public would think. He worried that his father would laugh or mock him. He worried that his fans would judge him. He worried that he would lose what was comfortable and known to him. Bottling things up was a healthy coping mechanism, right?

  
It was 3 am, everything in Paris was quiet at this time of night. Hell, he wasn’t entirely sure why he was out right now. He should have been in his apartment where it was at least warmer. The chilly breeze tousled his hair and he was thankful that his suit was made of leather and kept some of his body heat close. His green cat enhanced eyes flickered around his familiar city. The Eiffel Tower was alight and sparkling against the midnight black sky. A sarcastic smirk worked its way to his lips. That fucking tower. The one where so many akuma victims ended up. The irony of its beauty combined with his memories of horrific things happening there… It was the perfect metaphor for himself.

  
He had to shift gears and think about something else or he was going to head down the dark and twisted paths that his mind liked to wander. Instead, he thought about the years that had passed. He should have been keeping track of the exact number, but he knew that in the last 10 years of working with Ladybug, they had stopped well over 400 attacks.

  
Looking over the city he would protect with his life, he found himself in his happy place. Being Chat Noir and vaulting through the city with grace and lithe, working side by side with the best person he knew. Being Chat Noir was where he felt loved and welcomed and whole. Maybe that’s why instead of sitting at home in his lonely apartment, he was all suited up with nowhere to go, on a crisp night, atop a dirty building, at 3am.

  
He heaved a sigh. He had a photo shoot in the morning. That meant he had a laundry list of things he had to do in the morning. He needed to at least pretend to sleep a little. He stood and stretched. He felt his muscles pull and contract. Feeling his super hero strength, Chat Noir decided to make the route back to his place longer and more complex. What was life without adrenaline and spontaneity after all?

  
He bounded on all fours across the tops of the buildings. He leaped across the space between buildings that were too far apart. He lunged swiftly across rooftops. He hurtled obstacles he would only dream of it this were his patrol with Ladybug. He liked to push himself, but as the toe of his boot caught on a miscalculated jump and he tumbled to the far side of the building, he knew his partner would have been concerned about him going over the edge.

  
He slowed his reckless path as he thought about Ladybug. Specifically, how good she was. She was the light to his dark, she was the creation to his destruction, she was the Yang to his Yin. She was the only person who knew him the best. Even if she didn’t know who he was behind the mask. He was always far more vulnerable with her. Adrien always had to be ok, but Chat Noir could be moody and upset. And Ladybug always helped him work through his feelings.  
His tail twitched as his thoughts moved towards less appropriate ponderings. She wasn’t beautiful for her looks, though her full lips, shiny hair, wide eyes and long legs that had definitely stalked through Chat Noirs dreams frequently were a bonus…

  
They weren’t the best parts of her. She was beautiful for always seeing the good in people, for always having a positive attitude, for bringing him his favorite sweets when she knew he was down. She was beautiful for the way she cared for people.

  
In all this time, he had still never found out who his partner was behind the mask. He had had some ideas, but none that he had ever wanted to follow through on. If his lady wanted to remain a secret, he would let her. Simply working with her as long as he had was a gift he would cherish for a life time.  
By now, it was 5 am and he really needed to get back to his apartment. If he was lucky, he might be able to get a couple hours of shut eye in before he had to head over to the photo shoot. He was already dreading it. In the email he had received from Natalie, there had been a mention of working with zoo animals for whatever fucking reason.

***

Marinette ran through her house like a mad woman. She was NOT going to be late today dammit.

  
When Gabriel Agreste had offered her a position working for the Agreste Fashion Line, she had something much more formidable in mind. Not being a professional go-fer. She didn’t make a lot of money, but she still got to see her friend Adrien from high school on occasion and it paid her bills. Of course it was a step in the right direction. She had always aspired to be a fashion designer, and now she had some experience in the field.

  
The Agreste name and that would always look good in the fashion world. Even if she was just a go-fer, she was a go-fer for Gabriel Agreste dammit! It was also a flexible enough job that she could continue her duties as Ladybug without the scrutiny of a strict boss 24/7.

  
Today was one of those days that she would just roll her eyes and make everything happen. The fashion industry was always one for peculiar requests, but the email she read while downing her second cup of coffee involved bears and a model dressed as a lumber jack. When she laughed out loud, Tikki popped out of her makeshift mini apartment and floated close to Marinette.

  
“What’s so funny, Marinette?” trilled the little red kwami.

  
“The model on set today is going to have to deal with bears while being dressed as a lumberjack!” Marinette couldn’t hide the grin that stretched across her face, and chuckled once more.

  
“Am I missing something,” Tikki asked with an inquisitive look on her face.

  
“Oh, did I forget to mention what the ad is for? A ‘manly man’s’ cologne.” Marinette used air quotes to drive the point home. “Because men apparently think smelling like a stinky outdoor man is a what women want.” Giggles still escaping her.

  
Tikki smiled, “I guess men want to smell like sweat and bears.” The kawmi erupted into a fit of giggles and went back to eating her breakfast while Marinette got ready for her morning.

  
Mari’s morning routine was pretty quick these days, not that she minded too much, but sometimes wanted to appear more professional in hopes of being seen for her designing talents and not just her ability to rearrange a schedule like a pro. Unfortunately, today was a winged liner 2 day old mascara/a messy bun/grabbing a granola bar and she was on her way, kind of day.

  
With her kwami tucked safely into her cross body purse, Marinette grabbed her phone and headed out the door for the day. She sent off a text while she checked the lock on her door. “Are we still on for tonight? I look forward to seeing you again! <3” She would hopefully get time to shower before her date tonight as long as this photo shoot went smoothly.

  
The phone buzzed almost immediately. She looked at it excitedly. Reading the screen her smile fell, it was an e-mail from Nathalie.

Marinette,

I need you to go to Adrien’s apartment and get him to the location of the photo shoot by10:00am. I am working on getting the bears there on time. Following this photo shoot, you will be making sure that Adrien makes it to his scheduled events for the rest of the day. With Gabriel out of town, you will be working with Adrien.

At 7:00 tonight he has a Humane Society charity event that requires him to wear a tux and make a donation. See to it that he is there early and represents the Agreste brand well.

Nathalie

This was like winning the Friday lottery! She punched the air. Marinette was going to have a laid back Friday! No trips to the office. Just babysitting Adrien all day, which was easy enough. She and Adrien had gotten along well on the few occasions their paths had crossed since high school. Honestly, she still housed a teeny tiny crush for him, but she had worked through her school girl crush quite some time ago. Now her heart belonged to Chat Noir, not that she would ever tell him, but crime fighting partner had become the closest thing she had ever had to a significant other in her life.

  
Chat had held her when she cried over silly things and shitty dates. He was her confidant, and honest to goodness best friend. She always enjoyed patrolling with him almost as much as she loved taking down akumas.

  
Marinette knew the way to Adrien’s apartment, and it was only 8:15, she wasn’t that late. She decided to pop into her parent’s bakery, it was only a couple blocks from her place and halfway to Adrien’s. Knowing Adrien, he was still asleep. If he was like any other red-blooded man in France, quality baked goods would get him out of bed almost as quickly as the promise of sex.

  
“Mama, papa!” Marinette greeted her parents with a warm smile and big hugs. Even though she came by multiple times a week, they never tired of having their daughter back under their roof and always ushered her in warmly.

  
“What brings you in this morning Mari?” Tom asked. Mr. Dupain was a large man with a booming voice that took up so much space it was hard to believe he produced such intricate and detailed baked goods.

  
“I just wanted to grab a croissant and two eclairs for the road. I’m working with Adrien today and we all know that he is food motivated.” Marinette giggled to herself, somethings would never change, men and food was one of those things.

  
Tom nodded and went to grab a paper bag and fill it with Marinette’s order. Sabine looked over at her daughter.

  
“Are you eating enough dear? You look a bit thin,” Marinette’s mother always wanted to make sure she was eating enough. Especially since taking up her role as Ladybug in high school. Working out and weightlifting had made for a trimmer and stronger build than Marinette used to have.

  
“Of course, mama! One of those eclairs is for me after all.” Mari winked and smiled to her mother with warm eyes. She was so thankful that her family loved her as deeply as they did.

  
When Tom came back with the bag of goodies, Marinette asked what she owed them, and as always, her parents refused her money. They just told her to come over for dinner one night to catch up.

  
Smiling to herself as she left the bakery, Marinette had to put her behind in gear if she was going to get Adrein up on time to get to the shoot.

***

Marinette made it to Adrien’s door at exactly 8:37. Just a few minutes late, hopefully the model would be up and moving on his own terms and she wouldn’t have to wake him. Hearing a lack of noise behind the door, she had her doubts that he was even close to being awake. She reached for the spare key and muttered something about models running on their own time. Marinette unlocked the door and headed for the coffee pot. She set down the bag of treats. She would use the croissant and coffee as leverage to get him up and moving. If she brought him breakfast in bed, the man child wouldn’t move for hours. She had learned this the hard way a few years back.

  
Once the coffee was going, she found a cup to pour the coffee into. She walked through his apartment with ease in the morning light. She found his room and saw the door was open. Sleeping in the middle of the king-sized bed was Adrien Agreste. He looked so peaceful and at ease in his unconscious form. He was face down and snuggled into a pillow. His broad shoulders and narrow waist were uncovered. His long legs were sticking out from under the sheet as well. From what Marinette could tell, he was either sleeping nude or in his underwear. She felt a light blush creep up her cheeks. She might have been over most of her crush, but he was still a sight for sore eyes.

  
Marinette quietly crept over to the side of the bed, “Adrien, you’ve got to get up. You have a photo shoot today, remember.”  
The sleeping lump didn’t move or even acknowledge her presence in any way. She moved closer to that bed and settled on the edge. This time she spoke a little louder and reached her hand out to shake his shoulder.

  
“Adrien,” Marinette sang to him while shaking him slightly, “it’s time to get up. You have bears waiting on you. And some awesome flannel I hear.” She started to giggle at the thought of Adrien dressed in flannel for a photo shoot.

  
This time Adrien had heard her. He groaned and stretched, but his eyes remained closed. Marinette was thankful for his closed eyes because she had her answer about what he had worn to bed. And it wasn’t boxers or briefs, and sporting some serious morning wood. She felt her blush deepen but didn’t want to look away. She had seen a few penises, mostly through porn and once on the street because of a flasher, and through her dates that always ended miserably. But she hadn’t anticipated seeing one today, her thoughts trailed off to Chat Noir and what he might look like in the mornings… Marinette bit her lip and crossed her legs. She wasn’t going to go there right now. She had a job to do.

***

Adrien had known that he would be accompanied to the photo shoot today, he just didn’t know who his baby sitter would be. When he heard Marinette’s voice he was thankful it was her and not Nathalie. Marinette had always been much more fun to spend the day with. She also almost always brought baked goods. When he opened his eyes, he saw the blush on her face. She was cute, and when she was flushed, it brought out the blue in her eyes. It was almost like a Ladybug mask, though not quite as red of course.

  
He grinned at her and followed her line of sight. Fuck me. He sighed and moved to be more modest. To be fair, when a person had dreams like that about Ladybug, how could they not wake up sporting morning wood that could put a hickory tree to shame. But he needed to get on with it and get about his day. Running on roughly 3.5 hours of sleep was going to make for a long fucking day. Even with someone as fun as Marinette.

  
Meeting her eye for the first time, he smirked at Marinette. “Morning, sunshine.”

  
Mari cleared her throat before she responded. It was kind of adorable the way she could compose herself and not react immediately to any situation. It kind of reminded him of how Ladybug assessed an akuma strike before formulating a plan.

  
“Good morning Adrien,” Marinette chirped. She searched his eyes quickly to make sure he was truly awake and not going to fall asleep as soon as she left the room. “We need to be leaving here in about 25 minutes if we want to get to the shoot on time. I have a croissant from my parent’s bakery and coffee in the kitchen. If you get to the photo shoot on time, there might even be an eclair in the fridge for when we get back.” She winked at him.

  
Marinette looked pretty pleased with herself, so Adrien just grinned, shook his head lightly and replied with a “Yes, dear,” as though they were an old married couple.  
Marinette was convinced that Adrien wasn’t going to drift back to sleep. She stood, and adjusted the hem of her dress. “I’ll be in the kitchen, please hurry. I want to be out of here on time.” She gave him a light smile and then exited the room with her phone in hand.

***

Even with Marinette in the apartment, Adrien still felt lonely and wondered what it would be like to have a roommate or a girlfriend living with him. He knew that was a joke. He didn’t want to get involved with anyone because his affections for Ladybug. He knew it was a fruitless effort, but how could he seek someone out knowing that he would never love them the way he loved her.

  
As he started the shower Plagg floated up to him. His surly Kwami hated being out late and he knew he would have hell to pay for last nights transformation.  
“Plagg, try to keep the volume low. Marinette is here and I don’t want her getting suspicious.”

  
The kwami rolled his eyes and asked a one worded question, “Cheese?”

  
Adrien sighed and grabbed a chunk of the smelly shit and handed to small black kwami. Plagg’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning as he hugged the cheese to his chest.

  
“Also, stay out here and out of sight. I need some personal time in the shower.” Adrien turned on the faucets. Plagg ducked out of sight muttering about how he didn’t even want to be present during Adrien’s man to hand time.

  
It felt good to have scalding water pour over his body. After last night’s run, Adrien had been too tired to shower, but knew he needed one. He let his imagination run wild, he wanted a release before dealing with fashion shoots all day. Marinette was in the kitchen and he could be caught. It was an extremely arousing idea. He moved his hand down to his water slick cock, Adrien’s thoughts swirled and finally settled on one of his favorite fantasies: Ladybug on her knees, his Chat Noir suit unzipped and exposing his member with Ladybug on her knees with a greedy look in her eyes. It only took him a few minutes of tugging and fantasizing before he felt the sweet release of his ejaculation. Which was also when he heard Marinette from the bedroom say, “Fifteen more minutes, Adrien!”  
He rolled his eyes and reached for his shampoo.

  
Adrien dressed quickly in a black tee shirt and light wash, comfortable jeans. With Plagg stashed in his pocket and his hair was damp as he walked down the hall to the kitchen where he found Marinette waiting for him.

  
“Black coffee and a warm croissant.” She handed the pastry and the go cup off to Adrien. “Ok, so a car is downstairs waiting for us and it’s going to take us to the location of the photo shoot. Do you think you could eat in the car?” Marinette didn’t want to hurry Adrien, but she wanted to start her day on schedule and keep it that way.

  
Adrien knew she was only doing her job and didn’t want to put her in an uncomfortable position, so he nodded and headed for the door.

  
“Ladies first,” he said as he locked the door from the inside and following behind Marinette. And to be honest, it wasn’t a bad view. He watched her walk over to the elevator and press the down button. Her long legs were accentuated by the simple A line dress she wore. It was a light periwinkle blue and looked like it had been tailored just for her. He remembered who was in front of him of and realized it was likely one of her own designs and had been made to fit her perfectly.

  
The elevator arrived at their floor and Marinette pushed the buttons for the parking garage to avoid any rabid fans that might want to follow Adrien to his photo shoot. Marinette took advantage of the somewhat slow elevator ride, to check out Adrien from the corner of her eye. Each time she saw him, he was taller. He had to be somewhere near 6’ 2” at this point. He also looked tired, and not just a restless night tired, but that there was something more going on with him. His eyes weren’t as warm as they had been in the past. She would be bringing that up once she found an appropriate moment to do so. After all, they were friends. Or at the very least acquaintances. And she was Ladybug, out to protect the people of Paris, of which he was one.

  
Once they were in the car, Adrien ate his croissant quickly and sipped his coffee slowly. “What do your parents put in their croissants?! They are so fuckin’ good.”  
Marinette laughed, “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Baker’s secrets and all,” She winked at the blond boy.

  
It was time to stop flirting and start getting down to business. “Ok, so today’s photo shoot, do you know what it’s for?” Marinette quizzed Adrien to make sure that he was on the same page as everyone else.

  
“No, but it might involve zoo animals. I do know that,” Adrien said honestly.

Marinette stared at him for a few moments, “You’re kidding right?”

  
Adrien looked over his coffee at her. “Once you’ve done a few dozen of these,” he paused to yawn, “you kind of quit caring and just show up ready to work.”  
Marinette paused and bit her lip, “Do you want to wait and find out? Or do you want to know before we get there? Because I know what the shoot is for, and I think you’d get a kick out of it.” She really wanted to see his reaction to having to be a sexy lumberjack and learning about the bears on set.

  
Adrien could see the twinkle in her eye, “Ok, hit me with it. What is on today’s agenda for the shoot? What am I trying to sell?” He said it valiantly, there was nothing he hadn’t modeled for yet. Fragrances, clothing lines, his favorite tennis shoe brand. Once he had modeled for Air France and did the safety video.

***  
Marinette cleared her throat and collected her thoughts. Finally, she grinned and in her most professional voice, she looked Adrien “Been There, Done That” Agreste in the eye and said, “Manly Man has created their own fragrance line and today, you are doing a shoot for them.”

  
He could tell Marinette wasn’t done yet. He gulped.

  
“While you are shooting for the fragrance, you will be dressed in outdoor attire. As a sexy lumberjack if you will.” Marinette couldn’t help the giggled that had escaped her. She just couldn’t envision Adrien dressed as a sexy lumberjack.

  
“But….” The green-eyed boy started.

  
“Oh, I’m still not done Adrien,” Mari said holding up her hand and using her falsely stern babysitting voice, “The zoo animals that you will be working with today are bears.” With that, Marinette lost it. She was full on belly laughing. She couldn’t help it. Adrien’s face was priceless.

  
“And here I thought all these photo shoots were the same! This one will be my favorite one yet.” Marinette teased.

  
Adrien rocked his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. A wide smile played across his face. Bears. There were going to be fucking bears. And he was going to be a sexy lumberjack. He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. He turned to look Marinette in the eye and shook his head.

  
“I appreciate the heads up, there is no way I would have guessed that.” He smiled over at Marinette, “I’m glad you’re my handler today.” Marinette turned pink at the compliment and smiled.

  
They had pulled up to the location of the photo shoot an entire 10 minutes early.

  
“Remember, get through this on time and you get to have that éclair because we are early.” Marinette winked at Adrien while he shook his head at her.


	2. Chapter Two

Marinette watched from a distance as Adrien had his hair and makeup done for the shoot. In an attempt to make him look more rugged, the hair stylist combed hair into a more tousled and windblown style. Even with all the energy back stage, she noticed that Adrien’s eyes still looked flat. Marinette made a mental note to talk to Adrien about it later.

  
Marinette made her way over to where he sat. He looked similar to the Brawny paper towel guy, only far more sexualized. His flannel shirt was a size too small and unbuttoned 2 buttons too deep to be considered appropriate for any kind of outdoor work. Because of his model physique, she wasn’t about to complain. Mari’s heart may belong to her Chaton, but she wasn’t blind. He had been scrolling through something on his phone. It looked long and wordy. Marinette squinted looking over his shoulder to see if she could make anything out.

  
“Anything good there?” she asked nodding to Adrien’s phone.

  
Startled, Adrien looked up and blushed. There was no way he was going to tell Marinette what he had been reading. After all, reading erotic fanfics about Ladybug wasn’t something he wanted promoted around Paris. She was a superhero, and he wasn’t alone in his pining for the heroine. And boy where there some talented and, erm, creative writers out there.

  
“Oh, I’m just reading about Ladybug and Chat Noir’s latest activities.” If she asked any further questions, he would just say he was into the crime fighting duo. “When I grow up I hope to be as handsome as Chat Noir,” he chuckled to himself and smirked at Marinette meeting her gaze.

  
Marinette laughed, she knew he wasn’t reading an actual news article, that much she could tell. “So, are you ready to cuddle with some bears?” She smiled, as she thought of Adrien’s face in the car when he found out about his furry partners on the set today.

  
Adrien pulled his brows up and replied, “Honestly, it’s silly, but I’m kind of nervous.” It wasn’t that he was afraid of bears, but it’s not like he wanted to cozy up with a 600-pound monster that could eat his liver in 4 seconds flat either.

  
Marinette reached out and rubbed his shoulder, it was a simple and comforting gesture. Adrien pushed into her hand. Without a second thought, she drug her nails across his back in the same comfortable way she had done with Chat Noir on occasion when he seemed stressed out. It usually resulted in the silly Kitty purring and wanting to snuggle.

  
“Thank you, Marinette,” Adrien’s voice was low and filled with emotion. His eyes were closed as the minutes passed, Marinette continued to rub his back.

  
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just know someone else who gets anxious from time to time and this helps ground him.” She replied.

  
The minutes ticked past, but she wasn’t in a hurry to stop. Adrien was obviously needing some human connection, and if a quick back rub is what he needed, she would do it all day. It was a bit of a personal curse. She often gave too much of herself away, but that was what she was good at. Helping others. It wasn’t just who she was behind the mask, it was also who she was in her day to day life.

  
She sighed, and continued to rub Adrien’s back. Ladybug and Marinette were one of the same, she knew why Master Fu had given her the miraculous of creation. She had come to the realization a few years prior when Adrien had called Marinette “an everyday Ladybug.” The memory made her smile.

“READY ON SET!” the call came from towards the front of the room.

Adrien rose and blew through his lips, “I don’t want to get eaten…” and started toward the shoot.

Marinette laughed and called behind him, “I’ll fight the bears off if I need to!”

***

The shoot went smoothly. It turned out the “bears” Natalie had mentioned in her email was actually a single bear cub. And holy shit was he a cute little ball of fluff! Marinette watched the photo shoot from start to finish. She met Adrien’s eye occasionally to laugh with him about some of the poses the photographer wanted him to sink into. He looked good in the tight dark wash jeans and black suspenders while he donned a classic red and black flannel.

  
Adrien was a true professional. Aside from his fangirl moment, which included squeals of excitement upon meeting the little bear cub that was his partner for the shoot. He lit up in front of the camera. He came more to life than he had seemed earlier. His eyes were lively, but it was still not authentic. He posed and laughed. He did rough and manly. He held the axe and swung at the fake logs. Adrien knew his job and did it well.

  
When the shoot finally finished around 2:30, Marinette was ready for lunch, her meager breakfast hadn’t been enough to tide her over for this long. As she felt hunger pangs, Mari met Adrien back in the makeup chair with cleansing wipes for his face. He had pulled his suspenders off his shoulders as well as untucked and unbuttoned the flannel the rest of the way.

  
“So, once we are done here, what else do you have planned for the day? I know you have your charity event to attend at 7:00 tonight.” Marinette hoped her stomach wasn’t too loud.

  
Adrien looked up to her and smiled, “It sounds like you need to grab some lunch, and to be honest, so could I. Give me 20 minutes to change out of this,” he moitioned to his lumberjack attire, “and we can hit the road. What sounds good? Lunch will be on me today.” He finished his sentence with a wink and headed for the changing room.

  
It didn’t take Adrien long to change, but he appreciated the few minutes of silence following the shoot. He let his shoulders drop and he worked out some kinks in his neck and shoulders. Plagg floated around thankful to be free of the pocket he been stowed in.

  
The kwami spoke in his usual grumpy voice, “If those jeans were any tighter, I would have died.” Of course, Plagg was exaggerating, but he wasn’t exactly wrong.  
Adrien’s shoot attire was always uncomfortably snug. Shedding out of the flannel and wiggling out of the jeans, Adrien was happy to be back in his street clothes that fit him comfortably. Once he had changed, he walked out to meet Marinette. With Mari, he always ate great food, she had good taste. Then again, how couldn’t she? Her parents ran the best bakery in all of Paris, the girl knew quality.

  
He found Marinette who seemed to be checking emails, or at the very least, she was scowling at her phone. Even pouting at her phone, with her bottom lip between her teeth, Marinette looked great. If he hadn’t been desperately in love with Ladybug since he was 14, he might have tried to date her in high school.  
“Did you decide where you wanted to go for lunch? I’m starving!” Adrien called out from behind her.

  
Just as she used to, Marinette jumped when she heard Adrien’s voice. “Uhh,” she said closing out of the app she was in and shaking her head.  
“What sounds good to you? I’m not too worried,” She seemed distracted, not the same Marinette he had left a few minutes ago.

  
Adrien reached for her shoulder turning Mari to face him, “Hey, what’s going on? When I left 2 minutes ago, you were ready for lunch.”

  
She met his gaze unwillingly, “Well, I had my hopes up for a date tonight, but he just cancelled. I know it’s stupid, but I haven’t had a date in ages. And now all of a sudden, ‘he’s back with his girlfriend’ and was ‘just trying to prove a point’ to her. I really wish that sometimes I was into girls. Guys just seem to suck these days.”  
She realized a moment too late that had just word vomited all over Adrien Agreste. She chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck, “But it’s ok, I have plans for tomorrow morning anyway,” she said awkwardly thinking about the early Saturday morning patrol that she always did with Chat Noir.

  
Adrein nodded, “Guys these days do suck.” He pulled her in for a quick hug. “But I know where we are going for lunch today. Why don’t you put your phone away and come with me.” Not that she had much choice as he drug her by the wrist to the exit of the building.

***

Marinette thought Adrien was being a little over the top, as he dragged her through the building like a mad man. She looked at him and remembered how he was in high school. If anything ever happened to one of his friends, he would stand against the injustice… very Chat Noir like. She kicked herself for the comparison. Sure, they both had blond hair and were tall, but the similarities virtually stopped there.

  
Adrien was successful, independent, capable of maintaining a decent conversation… And Chat, well Chaton was sarcastic, mouthy, codependent, leather clad (yum), and almost always killed her with a pun overload. Chat Noir would forever hold a special place in her heart. A place that ached at the thought of him. She could use a Chat Noir pep talk, and more than a couple of hugs. But she was at work, and well, Adrien was an old friend. He would do in pinch.

  
For the first time since her cancelled date, Marinette smiled. “Hey, Adrien, do you think I could get my hand back?”  
By now they were on the street and waiting for the car to pull around. There was no reason for him to still have ahold of her.

  
“Oh,” he paused and looked down at his hand around hers, “Of course!” he laughed at himself and reached for the back of his neck.  
“So where are we going?” Marinette asked, curious.

  
She had only worked with Adrien a handful of times since she started in the Agreste business. She wondered if he had any particular model diet he had to adhere to. She crossed her fingers hoped for anything but vegan food.

  
For the first time that day, Adrien had a devilish gleam in his eye that conveyed excitement and orneriness. That was all he offered her in response to her question.  
***

As Plagg had once said, “The only way to get over a heartache is to eat a whole bunch of cheese.” Adrien had decided that the best way for Marinette to get over this loser, would be to eat their weight in the best pizza in all of Paris. He gave the driver the address as he got into the car behind Marinette.

  
“Want to tell me about this douche bag?” Adrien was irritated for Marinette. She was a sweet woman who would go out of her way to help others. She should have never been used in such a disgusting way.

  
Marinette laughed, “It’s really not a big deal. It was going to be a second date. He seemed cool enough. But I guess I have a way of picking them...” Her gaze went out the window with the rest of her sentence.

  
After a beat, Adrien decided to press her for more details, to the best of his knowledge, he had never noticed if Mari had had any serious boyfriends. “Are you having trouble finding a decent guy these days?”

  
She turned back to him, her lips pulled into a barely-there smile, “Well, it’s not like I’m a winner either.” Her tone self-deprecating. “I go on a few dates every couple of months so I have something to report back to Alya so that she will get off my back about being ‘too immersed in my work’ to date.” Mari rolled her big blue eyes and Adrien tried not to laugh. That did sound like something Alya would say.

  
He cocked his head to the side and listened to her continue, “What she doesn’t realize is that my heart already belongs to someone. But there is no way it will never work. Unfortunately, he has feelings for someone else,” she paused. “Why am I even telling you this? I’m sure you have better luck with the ladies. What are some of your tricks? Aside from your model good looks of course.” She finished with a wink.

  
He admired that, she’d flipped the script and put him on the spot. “Well,” he rubbed his knuckles across his collar of his shirt like some cocky asshole, “these model good looks do attract a certain type.” He waggled his eyebrows at her for show.

  
“But that type isn’t my favorite type.” He dropped the bravado and lowered his voice while his mind wandered to Ladybug, “I’ve never had anyone in my life for more than a couple of months. I don’t think I ever will.” His voice trailed off momentarily, “On occasion, I do work with this talented, strong, independent woman who takes shit from no one. She’s truly one of a kind and I have tried to ask her out, but she never takes me seriously.” By the time he had finished, he looked down and fiddled with the seat belt.

  
He met Marinette’s eyes, “Hey, since we both seem to be shitty in love, why don’t you be my date to the Cancan for Kittens thing this evening? It will only take an hour, two at the most. To make it up to you, I’ll take you out for a drink afterwards. I know I’ll need one,” It was his turn to roll his eyes. Any Agreste business event always required liquor afterward.

  
Marinette looked surprised, “I would love to Adrien, but I don’t have anything that is nice enough to wear to any charity event. Plus, I don’t want to stand out like a sore thumb, I’m just a low paid intern. My name has never been anywhere near the Agreste business for any type of fashion reason,” she paused, “I mean, except for that bowler hat I made for you ages ago.” Her face went a little pink when she mentioned the hat.

  
“I remember that hat!” Adrien laughed, “I still have it ya’ know.” He winked.

  
Marinette reached out and softly punched his shoulder, “No!” She looked mortified, “Why did you keep it all this time? Surely you haven’t been waiting to wear it for anything?”

  
“Maybe tonight will be the perfect night to drag it out.” He enjoyed seeing her wide-eyed gaze, “Plus we can pick something up for you after lunch. Speaking of, we are here.”  
***

Marinette was hardly able to believe that Adrien still had the stupid hat that she had made so many years ago. What could he possibly be doing with it?  
Her stomach growled as they got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. She was hit with the aroma of garlic and melted cheese. It was a small and comfortable place. Truthfully, when Adrien said he would take her to lunch, she worried that she was going to have to pull from her minute knowledge of which fork went with each dish.

  
The table they sat was in a quiet corner, requested by Adrien upon entering the building.

“Avoiding fans and the press at all cost.” Adrien chuckled and followed the hostess.

  
Once seated, Marinette assessed the blond boy that sat across from her who sat blissfully unaware as he read through the menu. “Do you really want me to attend your event with you tonight? Or are you just trying to be nice to me?”

  
He paused for a moment before he met her eye. “Marinette,” he reached across the table and grabbed both of her hands, “please come with me to Disco for Dogs tonight. It would truly mean the world to have you with me.” He finished with so much flourish and sincerity, that Marinette caught herself mid laugh and nodded to him.

  
“Adrien Agreste, I will be your date tonight.” She matched his theatrics with equal sarcasm.

  
His green eyes flashed with excitement, Adrien reached for his chest in show of unabashed silliness, “Oh, what would I do without you?”

  
Marinette blushed and hushed him as their waiter arrived at the table to take their order, they decided to split a pizza and handed their menus over as they continued to tease on another.

  
“Ok, serious question.” Marinette needed to know what she was in for. His answer would depend on the type of spanx she had to wear, “What is the exact dress code for this event? What kind of attire will you wear?”

  
“Oh, I assume its somewhere between casual and black tie.” Adrien wore a shit eating grin that only got bigger when he noticed Marinette’s scowl. “We only need to be there long enough to enter, mingle, and donate. That’s about all I can take of other posh assholes who show up to these events to shell out cash.” He finished his sentence with bitterness in his voice.

  
“Ok, so somewhere between pajama pants and a floor length gown. Got it.” Marinette didn’t want to embarrass herself or Adrien as this event, but she also knew that with her limited time frame and even more limited budget, she was on the struggle bus to find something that would work for tonight. An idea started to formulate in her head, she reached into her cross-body purse and smiled at Tikki who held a pen out to her miraculous holder. Marinette reached for a napkin and started to draw on her paper napkin.

  
“Here’s my idea. I can make something to wear in about 30 minutes. Do you think we could hit a fabric shop?”

  
“Your wish is my command, milady.” Adrien responded, the timbre of his voice had shifted into a more serious tone as he watched Marinette work diligently on her drawing.

  
Marinette’s head whipped up. Only one person called her that.

  
Even as heir pizza was served, but the pair didn’t break eye contact for a solid minute.

***

Judging from the look on Marinette’s face, he just opened his mouth and inserted his foot. Marinette’s sharp gaze looked up at him as if just mentioned that he liked to eat toddlers for breakfast.

  
“Why did you call me that?” She asked in a clipped tone.

  
He picked up a piece of pizza and acted nonchalant, maybe if he pretended that he hadn’t just called Marinette his pet name for Ladybug, maybe she would get past whatever had offended her. “Call you what? Milady? I figured we were still goofing around and being overly theatrical.” He shrugged his shoulders and hoped he come across breezily enough. Why the fuck did I call her Milady? Also, what is the problem at being called Milady???

  
He served himself a slice of pizza and Marinette seemed to soften a little at his response. “Wanna slice?” He nodded to the pizza.

  
She nodded with a light smile. “Of course.”

  
Adrien served her a slice of the overly cheesed pizza.

  
“So what are you doodling over there,” he said between bites. “What is this grand plan?” He picked at the cheese and thought of his kwami as he ate. He could already hear Plagg’s excited tone when once he got ahold of the leftovers..

  
This was the question that completely thawed Marinette from her chilly demeanor. “Well, I have an idea for a dress that should only take me 30 minutes or so to throw together. I just need the right materials to make it first.”

  
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you mean to tell me that you just designed and will be making you dress for tonight?” Adrien had to admit, he was marginally surprised. She was talented, and he had seen his father create complete works of art in a matter of minutes. But Gabriel was an experienced designer who had been in this line of work forever.

  
Mari’s face cheeks tinged pink at his question. “Well, why not? I have most of everything I need to make the dress, but I could use your opinion picking the perfect material. I know my measurements perfectly, I have been my own model for a while. Where do you think I got this dress?” She waved her hand down the light blue piece that she was wearing.

  
“Touche,” Adrien smiled his earlier assessment came back to him. He’d been right about her making the dress she wore. “So where should we head after this?” He asked as he ate his second slice of pizza.

  
“Well, the nearest fabric store should have everything I need.” Marinette said as she reached for her second slice of the pizza. “This is the cheesiest pizza ever! This is exactly what I needed.”  
***

Marinette excused herself to wash up before they left the restaurant. If she was going to handle any mateial, she wanted her hands clean and free of any grease. As she thoroughly washed her hands, she looked in the mirror at her reflection. When Adrien had called her “milady,” she had over reacted and she knew it. As she looked back, she wanted to laugh at herself, Adrien Agreste, super model, adored by all of Paris, Mr. Most Eligible Bachelor himself, as Chat Noir. That was plain and simple comedy. If he was Chat Noir, she’d eat her socks.

  
She let her mind wander to her favorite Chat. She thought of his charm and wit. How he could make any event significantly more fun. What sort of anarchy would he unleash on the guests, what he would say, how he would act. All of it would be amusing to watch.

  
Mari knew she was in over her head, but she was only attending because Adrien had asked her to go with him. She would be seen but not heard, the quiet guest at his side. She wanted no attention on her. Heaven help her if she put her foot in her mouth or flubbed up any interviews. Natalie would devour her Monday morning if she messed up in any way. As is, going as Adrien’s date was risky.

  
She pushed the thoughts from her head as she dried her hands.

  
Tikki flew out of her purse.

  
“What are you planning to make Marinette?” The little red kwami floated next to the raven haired young woman.

  
Tikki was one of Mari’s biggest supporters and was always interested in what she worked on. “I think I’m going to let this one be a surprise. But I want your opinion? What color looks best on me? Even if Adrien is a model and the son of Gabriel Agreste, he is still a man with no concept of color.” Marinette giggled, “Remember when he thought that teal and turquoise were the same thing?”

  
Tikki laughed with her Ladybug, “Of course, I am partial to red or black.”

  
There was a sound outside the door. Tikki flew back into her safe hiding place. Just in time as an elderly woman walked in and headed to the stalls.  
Marinette found her way back to the table and thought about what color she would use make her dress. Adrien was stood behind his chair ready to go. He had already packed away the last few slices of pizza.

“Ready?” He asked upon her arrival to the table.

  
She glanced at her watch, “Ready when you are!”

  
The pair made their way to the exit.


	3. Chapter Three

Marinette took Tikki’s advice and chose a black satin material.

  
“Hey, what are you wearing tonight? I don’t want to match exactly, but I would like to coordinate. Make this seem like planned it at least. Will this work?” Her tone was all business. She held the bolt of material up to Adrien who had wandered the aisles and ran his hands across bolts of fabric that felt like teddy bears.

  
“Marinette, you are asking me questions I don’t have the answers to. Because that is a 7:00 problem, not a 4:00 problem.” He smiled one of his kilowatt smiles and continued to run his hands across one bolt of fabric.

  
Marinette rolled her eyes and started to sigh when Adrien continued, “But if you make a black dress, it will be sure to go with anything in my closet. Almost everything is black or has black in it.” He winked at her, “Can you make me pajamas with this on the inside? It’s so soft I just want to roll around in it!”

  
Marinette laughed. “Adrien Agreste, we’ve got to be going if I’m going to make this dress in time.” She reached for his hand and dragged him over to the thread.

  
“This side is so much more boring. Can I go back to the fluffly side?” Adrien whined and started to move away.

  
“Nope, because I’ve got what I need, let’s go!” She walked away quickly and hoped Adrien had followed.

  
It only took a few moments to check out and head back to the car. The ride to her apartment was short and as they pulled, she began to have twinges of anxiety.

  
“I need you to remember that it’s just me… and I work all the time. My place is tiny and a bit of a wreck.” Marinette spoke as though she were embarrassed.  
Marinette stopped at her door. “Seriously Adrien, my place is a mess. Nothing like your place which was beautiful and immaculate. Please don’t judge me.”  
Adrien smiled darkly, “My place might be clean, but that’s all its got going for it. I’m sure your apartment is fine.” He finished warmly and placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder for reassurance.

  
Marinette unlocked the door and noticed all the things she should have done before she invited anyone up to her apartment, especially not her boss’s super model son. She tidied up the small flat as she moved through it. She flitted through the rooms, throwing some laundry in a hamper, hid the dishes that needed to be done.  
Adrien called out behind her, “Marinette, go work on your dress. You live here. It’s ok to look like you do.” This time he had placed two hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. He wore a look of sincerity.

  
“I’m only going because it already a quarter after four and your right.” Marinette met his gaze. “The remotes to the T.V. are on the couch and the password to the WiFi is: yourmomsaho” no capitals, no spaces.”

  
“Your mom’s a ho?” Adrien’s laugh boomed through the small apartment. “Is there a story behind that or are you just naturally that passive aggressive?”

  
Mari smiled, “My neighbors keep trying to steal my WiFi and refuse to get their own. I change the password every couple of days. It’s actually taking them a while to figure this one out. It’s lasted a whole 6 days so far. Anyway, if you need anything, I’ll be in my bedroom working. It shouldn’t take too long.” Marinette knew she was talking roughly 100 miles an hour. But she couldn’t help it. She was excited to attend her first charity event. And the fact that Adrien was her date only amped up her nerves.

  
She walked down the hall and paused for a moment before entering her room, high school Marinette would have been elated to even have Adrien in her home. She laughed at herself and thought about how much people grow and change over time.

  
In her room, she double checked her measurements, which were of course correct, and got to work outlining the dress on the fabric. Even though Adrien was in the house, Tikki still got a chance to relax and come out of her hiding place in Marinette’s purse. Though she was wise enough not to talk and instead waved to Marinette on her way to her tiny, make shift apartment.

  
Marinette was so entranced in her work and didn’t hear Adrien behind her until a voice behind her made her jump.

  
Adrien laughed and her momentary terror, and repeated the question, “How long does it usually make to take a dress?”

  
Fear worked out of her voice as Marinette answered honestly, “It depends on how many people try to give you a heart attack while you’re making it.” She laughed and pushed at his arm. “It really depends on the cut of the dress. This one shouldn’t take too long because it is a simple cut with no layers or necessary tailoring. If it were a gown with multiple layers and materials it would probably take me a couple days.”

  
Adrien nodded along understandingly, “So, are you going to try it on?” He waggled his eyebrows.

It was Marinette’s turn to laugh, “Maybe if you leave, a girl is entitled to a proper outfit reveal once the entire look is together.”

  
She really did need to try the dress on to make sure that it fit as it should. “Now shoo, I need take a two-minute shower and gather all of my things. Then we can go back to your place so you can get you all made up and beautiful for tonight.”

  
Adrien rolled his eyes but got up and walked out of the room.

  
After Adrien exited the room, she closed the door and slipped into her dress. It was perfect in every way. She let her hair down and decided that curling it would be perfect. For now, she needed to get the garment hung up so she could get into the shower. She slid the dress into a bag and gathered heels, a clutch, and under garments.

  
She moved quickly to her bathroom and jumped in the shower. Marinette scrubbed her hair and body as though this were a timed event. She exited the shower and wrapped her hair into a towel and started throwing makeup products, jewelry, and various beauty items into her makeup bag.

  
She threw on a loose t-shirt and some sweat pants They might not have been the most attractive, but they would ensure that she wouldn’t have any weird red marks in her dress.

  
While Marinette double checked her bag, Tikki soundlessly floated into the cross-body purse that Marinette wore. Marinette walked from her room to the living room as she ran over a mental list of things she needed. It was 4:57 and she was ready to go. A whole three minutes early!  
***

Never in his life had Adrien ever witnessed someone make a dress from scratch, shower, and be ready to leave the house in 42 minutes. To say he was impressed would be an understatement.

  
As Marinette walked out of the room she held a garment bag and a makeup bag like a woman on a mission.

  
“Let’s roll cowboy,” she said as she went for the door.

  
She always knew what to say to make him laugh.

  
The car waited for them on the curb side. Adrien opened the door and Marinette climbed in and hung the garment bag on a hook by a window.

  
They were headed back to his place and Adrien genuinely looked forward to attending Rumba for Rabbits now that he knew he wasn’t going alone. Not only would he not be alone, but his date was Marinette. Her company had proven to be pretty fucking awesome so far. She was funny and sweet. He just hoped she would survive the evening. To be thrown to the proverbial sharks from the industry, that was never easy. Adrien hatched a plan to keep her right by his side through the entire night.  
“Hey,” Adrien spoke in a gentle voice that caused Marinette’s head to snap up, it was a tone he hadn’t used all day, “Have you ever been to an event like this?”  
Mari shook her head and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “No, but I promise I won’t embarrass you or the Agreste line of fashion.”

  
He chuckled, she was worried about how she would represent the brand. “Mari, these events can be pretty hostile. It’s truly dog-eat-dog world here in the fashion industry. I was raised in this environment, I have a thick skin. I know how toxic it can get. I just want you to be prepared that you will probably see or hear things tonight that make you uncomfortable.” He laughed coolly, “And that’s why we drink afterwards.”

  
Her soft gaze squeezed his heart, “Adrien, I’m not a prude, I’m not squishy. I have done things that you couldn’t fathom, I promise I will make it through this event virtually unscathed.”

  
Adrien nodded, she was fierce, he knew for a fact that on occasion Mari had helped Chat Noir when he had been in a bind. He had known of Marinette’s strength since high school. “Ok, well if you do get uncomfortable at any time, just say the words and we can leave whenever you’d like.”

  
As they got out of the car, he reached for her garment bag. She let him have it so he slung it over his shoulder. They had made their way into the foyer. As they waited for the elevator he bumped her shoulder with his. “There is a guest bedroom down the hall opposite my room, feel free to make yourself at home while you get ready. If you need anything just give me a shout.”

  
“Deal!” Her excitement wore off on to him once again.

  
The elevator ride was short and they made to the apartment quickly. Adrien stopped at the fridge to put the left-over pizza away. Of course, he took a slice with him down to his room. They made their way down the hall and went into the separate bedrooms. With doors mostly open, they continued to chat when they were close enough to hear the other respond.

  
Small talk about Paris and the weather and remembering times from high school. It was comfortable. Not at all the loneliness that had sunken into Adrien’s bones the night before.

  
Adrien opened his closet and poked through what he had to wear. He hadn’t lied to Marinette when he said the majority of what he owned was black. He wrinkled his nose at most of the choices, too straight laced, too casual, too black, too bright, too boring, too many ruffles. He felt like Goldie Locks and the Suits That Sucked Ass. He heaved a heavy and over dramatic sigh before he settled on something that would work. He stripped down and went to his washroom.

  
Plagg finally made his appearance, “You’re being so picky tonight lover boy. Why can’t you just put something on and go? It’s not like you want to impress-” the little black kwami was cut off because Adrien had handed him the slice of pizza.

  
“Keep your voice down Plagg, Marinette is just across the hall.” Adrien jumped into the shower and started washing his body, it felt good to rake his hands through his hair. He knew he couldn’t take a long shower. But he needed to shave, he wanted to avoid a 5:00 shadow at all costs. In photos, his scruff always made his face look dingy. Plus, he didn’t want to hear about it from Gabriel. He rolled his eyes and reached for his razor and shower mirror.  
***

Marinette was in the Adrien’s guest bathroom when she heard the shower kick on. Two showers in on day…. That must be the dirtiest boy on the planet.  
“Tikki,” Mari called out in a whisper, “It’s safe to come out for a bit if you want to have a peak around.”

  
The little red kwami flitted out of the forgotten cross-body purse that hung on the bathroom door.

  
“Oh my,” Tikki spoke quietly in her squeaky soprano voice, “Marinette, you look amazing.” The kwami’s jaw was hung slack at the sight of her Ladybug.  
Marinette laughed quietly at her little best friend’s response. “Why thank you Tikki, I’m glad you think so.” She twirled to show Tikki the entirety of the dress.  
The kwami was still staring speechless, when Marinette went back to working on her makeup, just subtle eyes and foundation, but it needed to look like it was applied by a professional so she took her time, blending until she could now longer blend. When she was satisfied with her face, she turned to Tikki holding out two different lipsticks.

  
“Which one?” Marinette asked holding them both up to her mouth.

  
“The darker one!” Tikki was still staring, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so beautiful Marinette. I’m so sorry your date cancelled on you, but I’m sure this is the perfect pick me.” The little red fluff ball giggled. In a sing song voice, she added, “being Adrien Agreste’s date to a charity event.”

  
Marinette blushed as she put on her lipstick. She set her face with setting spray. Her hair was sitting in curls that only needed to be let down. She started pulling the pins and could already see soft curls that framed her face nicely. She ran her fingers through her long hair to lightly loosen up the curls.  
All she had left was put on her earrings and her heels and she would be set.

  
“Adrien!” she called from her bathroom, “Are you ready to go yet? It’s 6:20 and it’s a 20-minute drive.”

  
To Tikki, she added, “I think it’s time for you to head to my clutch for the evening.” And winked as she put her emerald earrings in alongside her black Ladybug studs.  
“I’m finishing my tie…” there was a pause and suddenly his voice sounded much closer, “But that will only take a second… and done!” He had to be standing in the guest room.

  
“Hey! Remember when I said that all women get to do an outfit reveal, get yourself outta here! I’ll be down the hall in a moment.” Marinette had only been half joking. She did want to show off her gown, but she also wanted to leave on time.

  
When she poked her head around the corner of the door, Adrien wasn’t in the room, he must have gone to his living room to wait for her dramatic entrance. She smiled to herself, Adrien really was a good guy. If stupid Chaton wasn’t in the picture, she would consider doing this more regularly. She took one last look in the mirror. She looked great. Tikki hadn’t been exaggerating.

  
The simple black slip dress clung to her figure like a glove. It had a very deep cut in the back and a slight cowl neck that hung beneath her collar bones. It was held together by one thin spaghetti strap on each shoulder. Not to mention the slit clean up to her hip. Marinette’s emerald earrings, a gift from Chat Noir on her 20th birthday, flashed when she pushed her long, dark curls behind her shoulder. The dark emerald velvet clutch pulled the earrings into the look smoothly. Her simple matte black heels were perfect, she only wished they were designer. As she met her own gaze in the mirror, her makeup was soft and dewy. The vibrant dark cherry lipstick made her entire look complete.

  
She smiled, of course her kwami would have good fashion sense! She checked her clutch one last time, house key, debit card, ID, her phone, and her kwami. Marinette was ready for whatever this party had to throw at her.

  
She sashayed down the hall as though she were on the cat walk in Milan.  
***

Three hours ago, that material had been just that. Material. On a bolt. In a store. Now, holy fucking shit… Now, it was the most jaw dropping thing Adrien had ever seen on anyone. Ever. And being a model, he had seen a lot of things on a lot of people.

  
“Marinette,” he said. He was just as wide eyed as her kwami had been. He really couldn’t stop ogling her. The dress was not only one of a kind, but it fit her body so well. Almost too well. With a backless dress like that, he knew she was braless, and that was a turn on. He thought of her boobs for a moment. Something he shouldn’t have done. He felt his body react to his thoughts.

  
“Jesus Marinette, you look absolutely stunning.” He didn’t even try to hide the awe in his voice. He took a step toward her holding his hand out to twirl her in a slow circle. He wanted her to show off the entirety of her outfit. “Ok, you were right. Women do deserve outfit reveals.” He bowed and kissed her hand borrowing some of his Chat Noir charm.

  
“Stop it!” Marinette didn’t fight the laugh that escaped her. “So, you think this old thing will fair ok at the event?” She picked at her dress nervously. “I don’t want to stand out like a sore thumb.”

  
He reached for her hands again, he knew he shouldn’t. But how could he keep his hands off her tonight? She was breathtaking. In the back of his mind, he was imagined Ladybug in the dress which didn’t help his arousal situation at all. “You will represent yourself, me, and the brand just fine. Please don’t worry about it. Also, a little model tip for you, even if you feel like you’re wearing a gunny sack, own it. If you own it no one will question you. Now, give me some confidence woman!”  
Marinette laughed and pretended to be a model for a couple of poses, much to Adrien’s delight.

  
“Alright, enough about you. What about me, will I be the Adrien Agreste that makes all the fangirls swoon?” Adrien struck a pose and waited for Marinette’s assessment.

  
She walked a circle around him and looked him up and down thoroughly, “You’ll do.”

  
She laughed and stepped out of Adrien’s playful swat. “Ok, ok, you look fantastic! I really like your blazer with that tie. You will be making all the women there weak in the knees. How am I going to do it, being your date, I might die on the car ride over from simply breathing the same air.” She feigned fainting.

  
“Alright, you’ve made your point. Now let’s get to the car.” He pretended to stomp away but held the door open for her. “After you milady.”  
***

Marinette chose to ignore the second “milady” of the day. Maybe it was something he said frequently. It’s not like they spent loads of time together in the last couple of years. She looked out the corner of her eye. She may have been teasing him earlier when she had said ‘he’d do’. But the reality was he looked amazing.

  
He was wearing black slim fit dress pants, black belt, black dress shirt, red pocket square. His bowtie had black polka dots on it. His red blazer with black velvet trim looked sharp and pulled the entire look together. He was even excited about his socks which matched red and black polka dotted bow tie. His blond hair was perfectly disheveled. As always, he cleaned up well. She could see why he was still a model. It was the perfect fit for him.

  
Marinette smiled at him from her seat in the car when she felt her phone vibrate.

  
“Oh crap,” She looked at Adrien, “It’s Alya… I forgot to tell her about my cancelled date and the new plans.” She bit her lip. “Would you take a selfie with me to send to her so that she won’t find this out through social media or something.”

  
“Of course,” Adrien wore an impish grin, “Anything for a fan.” He broke out into laughter when Marinette elbowed him lightly in the ribs.  
She held her phone up, she snapped a couple of pictures. “Actually, since we are going to be here a minute-” they were officially in the drop off lane as Adrien had called it, “-let’s send her a quick video.”

  
“Ok,” Adrien reached for Marinette’s phone, “But I get to hold your phone.”

  
She rolled her eyes, “Whatever floats you boat Agreste. Alright, go.”

  
“Hey Alya, so… there was a slight change of plans. I didn’t end up going on that date tonight-”

  
“Because she decided I was better company!” Adrien turned the camera toward him, and laughed like a crazy person.

  
At that Marinette, grabbed the phone back out of his hand and laughed at the camera as well. “Anyways, I will give you a call tonight or in the morning. Love you babes!” and hit send on the message.

She turned to Adrien, “Why are you the way you are?” she smiled at him.

  
“Honestly, a multitude of loneliness, border line neglect, and minimal human interactions during my formative years.” He shrugged it off like it was nothing.  
Marinette looked at him horrified. She reached across the seat and hugged him. She didn’t let him go for a long minute. At first, he was rigid against her, after a few moments, he collapsed into her and just welcomed the gentle touch. She held him with his head on her shoulder, she wondered how long it had been since someone had hugged him without wanting something out of it. Just to hug him for human connection. She didn’t want to know, because how he had reacted told her it had been far too long.

  
She didn’t want to let him go, but they were close to the door opener.

  
“Hey,” she said gently and gave him one final squeeze, “Let’s do this. Remember. An hour, hour and a half max, then we can go get that drink ok?”

  
Adrien nodded and composed himself. When the door opened, he smiled the kilowatt smile that had been known to kill school girls. Marinette followed his lead as she shimmied out of the car and took up her spot beside him and wore her own smile.


	4. Chapter Four

Marinette had seen Adrien extremely vulnerable one second so vibrant and full of life the next. It was something she was not she had expected this evening. She was definitely going to have a serious conversation with him after the event. Until then, she stayed right next to the tall, blond man. He answered questions about his most recent works and she smiled next to him. He posed for the photographers motioned for her to join him.

As she had never been to any kind of large scale charity event as anyone’s date, she happily obliged. She stood next to him and smiled. He pulled her closer and looked down met her eyes. She looked at him with wide eyes.

Adrien Agreste had asked her to be his date, and now he posed with her for countless photographers. He held her close to him, showed her off, and twirled her aound. Fuck high school Marinette, 23-year-old Marinette was on cloud nine. She knew that this wouldn’t happen again. It was her Cinderella night, and by god she was would to relish in it.

The two shared heavy looks, whispered in each other’s ear, and more than a couple pecks on the cheek. She didn’t care what it looked like. She simply existed and enjoyed it.

***

Finally the pair made their way into the building and left the carpet behind them.

Her head spun, there had been so many light and questions.

Marinette wanted a moment to collect herself. “Hey, Adrien, I’m going to run to the powder room, I’ll meet up with you at the bar over there ok?” She gestured across the room.

Marinette strode off in the direction he had pointed.

She couldn’t believe that she had just walked into an event with Adrien. Granted, it was as charity event and not the MET Gala, but as she entered the restroom, she didn’t care. She didn’t hear or see anyone so she opened her emerald green clutch and let Tikki out to scout the bathroom while she checked her makeup and accessed her wrinkle situation. She nodded and thought she was still looking great and her dress was still laying smoothly across her lithe body. She didn’t get to let her hair down, literally and figuratively, nearly enough.

Voices grew louder and were a clear indication that the privacy of the bathroom was in danger.

“Tikki!” She hissed as the red kwami zoomed into her clutch just in time. A snarky voice rang out as the door opened, “Can you believe that Adrien is here with that nobody? What does she even do anyways?”

Marinette blushed, well, this is uncomfortable.

A tall brunette walked in to the bathroom followed by another tall blonde woman who was on her phone,

“According to her social media, it looks like she works for Gabriel. I don’t think she’s on his design team though…”

“I bet she’s just trying to get into Adrien’s pants, you know, his family’s money and all…” the brunette’s voice died as she turned to see Marinette who stood in front of the mirror.

Face to face with the two gorgeous women, who were probably models, and Mari felt like she was on fire.

She was Ladybug, these two bitches weren’t going to dampen her wonderful night.

“I actually do whatever Gabriel needs. Yeah, I may be a professional go-fer as you like to call it, but I call it working my way to the top, not sleeping my way there.”

The brunette looked stunned as if Marinette had just slapped her.

Feeling extremely embarrassed and extremely out of place, Marinette turned on her heel and exited the bathroom. She refused to let those women bring her down. She was here because Adrien had asked her. She knew that he wasn’t interested in her, but they were still friends. And that’s what you did for your friends, went with them to swanky charity events with people you don’t like just so you can roast them on the car ride home.

Marinette remembered what Adrien had said about thick skin. She decided to put her emotions to the side and pretend that she was fine. She made her way to the bar, she wouldn’t let anyone else make her feel inferior.

***

As Marinette walked up to the bar, heads turned. And Adrien knew why. His date was fucking hot. He put his drink down and turn to see for himself. And fuuuck. He was not prepared for what he saw.

Marinette cut her way through the crowd like a surgical scalpel. She sauntered and swayed in all the right ways. The slit in her dress opened to reveal her long, toned legs. Her breasts jiggled just enough to know that they weren’t trapped in a bra. But what captivated him the most were her eyes. The woman looked as though she were ready to burn the place to the fucking ground. He grinned at himself darkly, that look was one of the hottest fucking things he had ever seen.

“I’ll have whatever your having,” her smile was forced and her voice sharp.

“A water? It looks like you need a double shot of something much harder,” Adrien laughed as he waved the bartender over.

“So, what did you hear in the-,” he looked at his watch, “-three and a half minutes you were gone?” He tried to keep his voice light, but he was also annoyed that it really had only been a few minutes and she was already pissed off.

“Why are people so thoughtless? Just because I work for your dad doesn’t mean I’m here to make moves on you or anything. Not that I wouldn’t… I mean, I’m not interested in you that way anymore… I mean… not that I wouldn’t be, look at you... Fucks sake. I give up.” She said and rolled her eyes. 

Adrien laughed.

After a beat, Marinette spoke again, “I understand why you drink after these things.”

“Wait, let’s go back to you making the moves on me. That is way more fun!” He beamed her with another fangirl killer smile.

“So how do you plan to woo me tonight? Aside from the dress that is.” He winked.

Marinette blushed again.

The bartender had come over to get her order.

She looked at Adrien and ordered a water. Adrien raised his brow at her order but didn’t question it.

He waited for her answer.

The bartender returned with her water.

“Sooo,” he pried, nudging her shoulder gently. He did want to know what had been said. He needed to repair as much damage as he could. Marinette was a good friend. He didn’t want her friendship ruined because of something she heard in the bathroom.

Marinette told her water what had happened, she couldn’t look Adrien in the eye. “These two tall, stunning women in the bathroom said that I must only be here to get in your pants.” She rolled her eyes. “I know I shouldn’t let it eat at me, so I’m going to pretend it didn’t happen. That’s all I promise. I’m not going to let it bother me, but you will buy me a drink... or 3 tonight.”

Adrien looked at her and smiled, “If they are going to talk anyway, let’s give them something to talk about” He grabbed her hand and for the second time that day. She was getting used to being drug around by Adrien Agreste. It was starting to become a thing with them at this point.

***

They ended out on the dance floor. This didn’t help Marinette at all. It’s not that she didn’t dance, it’s just that she didn’t usually do it sober. Or with any kind of grace.

Adrien reached for her, not only pulling her in for the slow dance, but pulling her body so close to his that he could feel the muscles moving in his chest and the heat rolling off his body.

“Adrien, I don’t really know how to dance, you know, like formally…” She started to tell him, standing against him rigidly.

He cut her off, and spoke quietly in her ear. His voice was low and hot on her neck, “Just trust me.”

His green eyes cut into her in a familiar way. She was completely at ease. She let go of the situation. Whatever happened, she would be alright. She was in Adrien’s arms. He would protect her. She relaxed into his embrace and let him as he guided her around dance floor.

“If people think you’re sleeping with me, we might as well act like it,” it was a matter of fact statement.

And that statement almost killed Marinette. She felt a blush creep up her face. “But… Why would… What if…” she spluttered.

She couldn’t come up with a decent response to his logic, instead she danced with him in silence for a few beats.

“Doesn’t it bother you that people automatically assume I’m sleeping with you?” Marinette asked genuinely, “I’m just a company go-fer after all, not leggy beautiful model, not a designer. I’m just a glorified errand runner.” She looked down and pulled her lips into an embarrassed pout.

“Marinette,” Adrien pulled her face up to his. His voice serious and his eyes honest. “You are not. You are so much more. You are fierce, strong, full of love and kindness and empathy. You are still the everyday Ladybug that people look forward to having in their lives. When I realized it was you who was going to be running around with me today, I felt happier than I have in weeks. You make me laugh and smile and just feel at ease. I wish you could see yourself for who you are.”

Marinette blushed across her face, neck, and chest. “I didn’t realize you thought so highly of me Adrien.” She looked at his chest as she spoke, if she met his gaze she wouldn’t have been able to finish her train of thought.

They danced in the silence. Bodies tightly pressed together.

His voice was still thick when he spoke, “If this becomes too much, let me know. My promise still stands. When you’re ready, we will leave.” He nuzzled his face into the shoulder kissed lightly down her neck. Marinette looked too good to not to kiss. The way her graceful neck melded into her collar bone, it was begging to be kissed. He lowered his lips to her neck and nuzzled. 

Marinette felt her brain stall out and her body react. She acted on impulse and turned her face to catch Adrien’s lips. They had stopped pretending to dance and stood in a lip lock that neither of them wanted break. Adrien ran his hands down her sides and Mari pressed her chest into his. He felt her nipples like taught little nubs against his chest. Adrien’s chuckle rumbled through him. 

Marinette pulled away first. “Oh my god, Adrien, I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” Her blush returned in full force. As she clapped her hand over her mouth. 

Adrien still had his hands on her waist and held her close.

“Marinette, it’s alright. I kissed you first. Why don’t I go write a check and we can go grab that drink I promised you.”

He kissed her cheek before her walked away. “Meet me back at the bar in 5 minutes.”

***

Marinette went to the washroom one more time. She checked the stalls and let Tikki out.

“Tikki. I kissed Adrien. Why did I do that? I probably ruined the whole evening! Oh my god…” Marinette started to hyperventilate.

“Marinette. I need you to breathe. You didn’t do anything wrong. He said he kissed you first, right?” Tikki knew her miraculous holder needed to get a grip immediately.

“Hey, Marinette. Just take a breath, if he brings it up, just tell him you go caught up in the moment. Don’t make a big deal of it.” Someone started to open the door on the washroom which caused Tikki to fly back into the clutch.

Marinette took a few breaths like Tikki had told her. She was feeling a bit better. She checked her makeup and used the restroom before heading to the bar. She serched for Adrien when she felt an arm wrap around her waist and start pull her close. She looked up at Adrien. Except it wasn’t Adrien. It was a dark-haired man with cold, dark eyes.

“Hey gorgeous,” His breath heavy with the smell of alcohol. “Why don’t you come over here and show me some of the love you had for blond lover boy.”

Marinette looked at him, his eyes looked dead and flat like a shark. He could be dangerous if provoked. She could feel it in her gut.

“I don’t think so. I’m actually just headed around this way.” She turned to pull away from but he had a tight hold on her hip. His fingers dug into her soft flesh painfully.

A flash of red was all she saw and then she was free of the stranger’s grasp and behind Adrien who looked mad enough to kill. “

Hey,” Marinette started but was quickly cut off.

“Why the hell would you grab someone like? Especially someone who is clearly not your date and not interested?” Adrien’s voice was harsh.

Marinette reached for Adrien’s shoulder. As much she appreciated him coming to her rescue, she literally had been saved Paris since she was 14, she could get rid of this creep on her own.

“Hey,” she said louder pulling on his shoulder. “I’m ok, and I’m quite sure that this guy would have let me be pretty soon.” She gave him her coldest look. 

She looked and Dead Shark Eyes, “Right, sir?”

He nodded and slunk back into the crowd.

Adrien turned to her, “But..” He started.

Marinette held a single finger up to his lips, “Shhh. Let’s just get out of here. We can’t cause a scene. You are representing your father. As is I will probably be dead meat for kissing you....” she blushed again. “See, he’s gone now and I’m safe!” She smiled up at him and linked her arm through his and led him out of the venue. 

***

Unlike the swanky charity event, the local bar was much more comfortable. Adrien looked out of place in his perfectly tailored red and black suit and Marinette looked like a teenage boy’s wet dream. The pair stood out to say the least.

Again, Adrien requested a booth in the back of the room. His jaw was still set and he looked like he would jump on anyone who looked at his date twice.

Marinette ordered a mixed drink and Adrien got a double shot on the rocks.

They got an order of cheesy bacon fries.

Neither of them had eaten since lunch.

She took a sip of her Bahama Mama and picked at the slice of pineapple that came with her drink.

“So, Adrien, we’ve been joined at the hip all day. What has been the best part and what has been the worst part. This is a survey to improve my customer service score, so please answer honestly.” She winked at him, and only half expected a reply.

He took a long pull from his double shot that drained half the glass as he thought, “The best.. hmm, that would be seeing you in that dress. I’m not even sorry when I say you look fucking fantastic. The worst is that it’s got to end. I have really enjoyed your company today.” He grinned at her.

Marinette smiled at him, “Ok, so wear revealing and sexy clothing and don’t leave the client. Got it.” She laughed. “But really, thank you for the compliment, for inviting me to be your date tonight, for just helping me have and awesome Friday. I’ve had a great time catching up with you.”

Their order of fries arrived.

Marinette picked up a fork while Adrien shed out of his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, and dove in with his fingers.

Marinette toyed with her fry as she spoke. “I am sorry I kissed you. I know I shouldn’t have. I just got caught up in the moment.”

Adrien smiled. “I take it back, kissing you was the best part of my day.”

Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Seriously Marinette, don’t worry about it. I kissed you first. That was all on me. And I’m anything but mad about it.”

Marinette nodded, she wasn’t about to beat a dead horse so she ate her fry.

They chatted about high school and how they used to have to listen to Chloe be ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. They discussed how Alya and Nino were getting married in a few months, and their roles in the wedding, best man and maid of honor. They ate their fries and ordered a second round of drinks.

Starting to feel a bit of a buzz Marinette looked at Adrien for a moment. He looked relaxed and most at ease that he had all day. “Adrien, are you ok?”

He knew she hadn’t been asking about any physical ailments, “Do you want the truth, or do want the happy answer?”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed, “Adrien Agreste, you should know me by now. Of course, I want the truth. I’m worried about you.”

“And you would be the only one.” Adrien said sarcastically as he ordered another round.

“Then let me worry about you.” Marinette reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “Look at me Adrien, I don’t care how much time we do or don’t spend together, I will always worry about you. You deserve to be happy and I don’t feel like you are. Is there anything I can do to fix that? Can I get you any help?"

Adrien laughed, but it cold, “Yeah, like my father would be willing to admit to the world that I have a problem. Let alone get help for it.”

Marinette knew she had hit a nerve. She let him sit in silence for a few minutes. “You know you can talk to me. I won’t judge you. Ever.”

He sulked for a moment. “Yeah, that’s what you think. That is until you hear about the little, rich, boy’s problems. Whhaaa, my daddy doesn’t love me, I’m so lonely it hurts, I will never find love.. Who wants to listen to that bullshit? I know I don’t. No one does.”

Marinette got up and walked around to his side of the booth and sat next to him. She laid her head on his shoulder.

He didn’t move, instead he poked at the fries. “Adrien, you are loved. It might not be from where you want it, but people do care about you. I know that you need to talk to someone, and when you’re ready, I can help you find someone to talk to if you’d like. My counselor is great but she might not be what you need.”

She was rubbing his back again out of habit. It was something she did to soothe Chat Noir on his bad night.

At that Adrien looked at her bewilderedly, “You, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, have been to counseling? Why?”

Mari had finished her drink and had a good buzz going. She reached for his drink and took a sip of it as well.

“Well, I don’t really like to talk about it much, but one reason I’m so time oriented is because I actually have anxiety. I constantly live in a state of what if’s, did I do enough’s and could I have done it better’s. It wasn’t easy to admit, but now I have some helpful tools and tricks for getting through uncomfortable situations.”

Adrien stared at her amazed. “Maybe someday I’ll be able to admit that I have a problem, but until then, are you ready to head back to my place? You kind of left all your stuff there and it’s after midnight. I have an early morning workout I need to get to.”

“I will only get up if you promise to talk to me when things get dark for you.” Marinette moved to stand up, she teetered on her heels.

Adrien nodded and held out a pinky finger, she wrapped her pinky around his, “Pinky swear” they said at the same time.

The trip back to Adrien’s place was filled with loud laughter each other’s stupid jokes. The elevator ride was just 3 minutes of pure belly laughter. Marinette noted that Adrein had a wicked sense of humor.

Tipsy Marinette remembered the eclairs she had brought over earlier that morning. “Adrien! We need to eat these!” She was flushed and excited. To be quite honest, Adrien was pretty buzzed as well. And the eclairs did sound pretty fuckin’ good.

“Ok, but do you mind if we just eat them in the kitchen, I really don’t want to bring them to the dining room.” Marinette looked at him slyly.

“I have a better idea.” She snatched both eclairs and a bottle of wine out if the fridge and ran down the hall giggling like a school girl. Adrien followed after her to see where she had ended up. She wasn’t in the T.V. room or the guest room, that only left his room. When he entered his room, he saw that she had sat in the center of the bed looked really fucking hot. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the alcohol. The way that she was on her knees had caused her dress to ride up exposing even more of her leg, if that were possible.

“In my room? This is your better idea?” He acted like it wasn’t a good idea but in reality, he didn’t give a shit. Marinette was happy. And in his bed. He wasn’t going to try and get her out any time soon.

***

Marinette looked to Adrien as she reached for a remote for the T.V. that hung on the wall across from his bed. “Do you mind if we watch the last bit of the news?”

Marinette sat in the middle of the bed where as he opted for the head of the bed.

Before he sat down, he took off his tie and belt. He kicked his shoes to the side. He shrugged. He had had a pretty good day. And that was saying something. More often than not, he left photo shoots or stupid events feeling more hollow and empty than when he’d arrived at them. He knew that the only time he truly felt himself was when he wore the black mask and leather suit of Chat Noir, but he couldn’t be Chat all the time. Not for a lack of trying. People looked for always Adrien Agreste if he was gone for more than a day.

Marinette was captivated by what the television was saying. He knew that he should be too, but as he picked at the éclair, he watched Mari instead. Her big, blue eyes moving from the T.V. to her sweet treat, occasionally taking a sip of the wine.

Marinette turned to look at him. Her eye lids were heavy, but she didn’t seem like she was headed to bed any time soon.

“Adrien,” her voice was quiet. Almost like she was nervous about what she was going to say next. “Thank you for everything. You really made my day.” She moved to stand up. “I guess I will get my things and be going.”

“Marinette, you came here drunk and just drank another half a bottle of wine. I don’t think you should be going anywhere.” He paused, “You can stay in the guest room if you’d like. I know you weren’t planning to stay, so I can grab you a t-shirt to sleep in.” He got up to find her a something.

Marinette grinned, “Thank you, for letting me stay. But do you want to watch a movie or something? I’m not really all that tired.”

She followed him to the dresser he had started riffling through. “You know that all of your clothes are going to swallow me whole right? You’re like, what, twelve foot tall or something?” She giggled.

He joined in her laughter. “I’m actually 11 feet 11 inches, but so close! And you might not fit into anything in my closet, but you might fit into something I had in high school…. Here it is!” He triumphantly pulled a familiar black shirt out that had three faded lines on it across the chest.

Marinette looked at him, “You know, in high school, I would have died if you had offered your shirt to me and asked me to stay the night.” She smiled lightly, “How things change, am I right?”

Adrien nodded and smiled, thought of how he saw Marinette right now, “Yes, how they change…”

“Ok, well, I’m going to go get out of this dress, you pick a movie!” She walked out of his room and into the guest bathroom.

***

“TIKKI!” Marinette hissed as loudly as she dared. “Where are you?”

The red kwami came flying around the corner. “Are you ok Marinette?” Concern colored her little red face.

Marinette was definitely drunk, but she had just told Adrien about her crush. How embarrassing! “I’m ok Tikki. I just wanted to check on you. We are going to stay here tonight,” she started removing her makeup, “Is there anything that you need? I’m sure I could sneak you some food.”

“I’m ok Marinette, but thank you for thinking of me.” Tikki watched as her miraculous holder pulled her hair back into long braids. “Is there anything that you need?”

Marinette shimmied out of her dress. “Um, I just need to be ready to patrol with Chat around 6 am…” She looked at her phone and groaned. “I doubt I get nearly enough sleep to be functional. Hopefully there are no akuma attacks.”

Tikki nodded. “So where should I hide out at? I can always go make myself at home in your clutch again?”

“Are you comfortable enough in there, I worry about you because its smaller than my normal bag.” Marinette pulled on the infamous black shirt she had once dreamed of pulling off Adrien when they were in high school. It was a bit baggy on her, but it was definitely more comfortable than trying to sleep in the clothes she had worn over to Adrien’s. She was suddenly glad that she had packed her cotton boy short panties that were more like shorts than under pants. She checked herself in the mirror one last time.

“Are you sure you will be ok, Tikki?” she wanted to triple check that her kwami was ok, because without her kwami, she was nothing. “

Yes, Marinette, I’ll be fine!” Tikki hugged one of Marinette’s blue braids.

***

Adrien had picked some comedy out of the T.V. guide and changed into his pajamas pants. As he had company, he knew he couldn’t run around naked. No matter how UCB he wanted to.

Marinette came back to his room. Her sexy dress packed away, and her makeup removed, she looked softer. She looked more like the Marinette he remembered from high school. He also liked the way his shirt looked on her…

“What are we watching?” Marinette moved to rest on opposite side of the king-sized bed.

“I’m really not sure, I think it’s a comedy though.” Adrien sat on the opposite side of his bed. They started the movie and within 10 minutes Marinette was asleep an snored lightly. Adrien reached over and pull the blanket up around her. She looked peaceful in her sleep. Adrien smiled and moved to his side of the bed. And for the first time in a long time, he was fast asleep almost as soon as he had closed his eyes.


	5. Chapter Five

Marinette jerked awake when she felt a nudge on her cheek. She would recognize that nudge anywhere. It was her kwami, Tikki,who tried to wake her up. She opened her eyes and looked at the little red creature that floated 6 inches away from her face. It took all of 13 nanoseconds for everything to flood back. Marinette panicked silently. Tikki shouldn’t be out in the open. She rolled over to see if Adrien was still asleep. He was face down in his pillow blissfully unaware. Marinette reached for her phone, she checked the time. _Shit. _She was already 15 minutes late.

Not wanting to wake Adrien, Mari slid out from her side of the bed and walked quietly to the guestroom. In her quietest voice, she whispered her favorite words.

“Tikki, spots on,” and the kwami transformed Marinette into Ladybug. She shot a quick text to Adrien and explained that she had stepped out to get croissants but she would be back to get her things. She snuck out of the window hoping she wasn’t seen.

Adrien knew the second Marinette had left. His kwami, Plagg, immediately in his face and held a huge chunk of stinky cheese. Plagg wouldn’t have risked getting caught. That meant Marinette had to have been gone.

“Are you going to meet Ladybug for patrol this morning or not?” He gnawed at the chunk. “Because I’m ok with not going out.”

Adrien jumped out of bed silently.

The kwami rolled his eyes, “Good bye my beautiful cheese.”

Adrien spoke in a voice just above a whisper, “Plagg, claws out.” And his kwami was pulled into the ring that transformed Adrien into Chat Noir.

He checked phone because he had heard it chime. It was Marinette, she had stepped out without taking her things? That was peculiar, but he was already 20 minutes late to his patrol with Ladybug. He was would have to worry about that later.

Ladybug had _just_ started to think that Chat Noir had moved on without her when he pounced lightly onto the rooftop where she stood.

“Sorry I’m late, milady. I had a hot date last night.” He walked up to her, standing too close, not that she minded of course.

Ladybug rolled her eyes at him, “Well, I know it wasn’t me, so she wasn’t _that_ hot.” The faintest tinge of jealousy in her voice. She knew Chat was probably a womanizer, and how could she blame him? She’d read the fanfics that swirled around him. Fics that described her partner in many delicious ways.There were plenty Chat x reader out there that had kept her entertained.

_Chaton_ could have anyone that he wanted. There were all of, _maybe _three hot blooded humans that _didn’t_ want him. As he stood in the early morning light, she could see exactly what the rest of Paris saw in him. Chat Noir was beautiful. But he as more than leather hot pants. He was kind, he was genuine, he was funny. It may have taken a few years, but she had fallen in love with him. Not that she could ever act on her feelings of course…

“Ooo, feisty this morning, are we? I thought that claws were only becoming on cats, not Ladybugs.” He winked at her.

“You could say that,” Ladybug replied, as she pulled out of the Chat Noir trance. That’s what she liked called it. Just breathing the same air could get her head foggy. It wasn’t ideal when they fought akumas. But on occasion, it was nice to get lot in a fury of flirting and fantasy. With one last look, she admired the tight black leather, the broad shoulders, that tail that accented his sarcasm… And, shit she was lost again.

Chat look at her and tilted his head to the side in genuine curiosity, his ears perked in her direction. “Did you do anything fun last night?”

Ladybug snapped back to reality.

“Oh, yeah. I actually got asked to an event last night with the last person I thought would ever ask me out.” She laughed at herself. Surely, she wasn’t giving too much away. She had never actually told Chat the name of her high school crush. Even after his years during which he had begged to know the identity of the boy who held her heart. “But I know nothing will actually come of it. It was an entirely platonic date. If you could call it a date… It was weird honestly.”

Ladybug laughed awkwardly.

Chat Noir looked at her, his green, feline gaze warm, “Well, I’m glad you did something new then. Ready to roll?”

And he launched himself from the rooftop.

Every time she watched him do that, her heart clenched a little, but what could she do while she was swinging around Paris on her magic yo-yo?

***

The crime fighting duo surveyed Paris on their usual Saturday jaunt. They teased each other along the way. A few truly awful puns and one too many sarcastic comments later, Marinette knew that Adrien would be awake soon and wondering where the hell she had gone to get croissants. She also needed to get back to her apartment. She had to clean. She also needed to make it to the gym because she hadn’t gone yesterday.

“_Chaton-_” Ladybug started.

“Oh, milady, I do love when you call me that.” Chat sauntered over to where she stood. His body to pressed into her. She bumped into the bricks of the building behind her.

“_Chaton._” A coy smile played on her lips. She knew she had pushed her luck. But she didn’t care. He pressed her against the was so she was firmly against the wall, his body pressed tightly to hers. He had moved a hand to rest on the wall behind her, effectively pinning her in place.

“I really need to be going. I told a friend I would pick him up breakfast this morning and I’m sure he’d be devastated without them.” She flicked at the bell on his suit playfully. “Maybe next time we patrol I’ll bring you a treat as well.”

She laid a hand on his chest to push against him to leave.

He stood unyielding,

“There is nothing out there as sweet a treat as you, Bugaboo.”

He pressed a soft kiss into her cheek. “You are all I will ever want, milady.”

Ladybug stood for a moment and swallowed hard. “You don’t even know who I am, Kitty.”

Chat Noir looked at her playfully and took the smallest step back. “I don’t need to know who you are to be completely in love with you. After 10 years, I assumed you would have caught on to that by now.” He winked. “Best not let this boy wait too long for his croissants, he might throw some kind of a tantrum and make us actually work today.”

He grabbed her hand and bowed like a fool before he kissed it and left.

Ladybug stood there for a moment, once again she had to collect her thoughts. Maybe one day she would stumble upon some stranger mid-transformation and no longer have to wonder about who Chat Noir was behind the mask. _Yeah, right,_ she thought to herself, _it’s been almost 10 years and it hasn’t happened yet._

***

Marinette had convinced herself that Ladybug was a person, and occasionally a person needed to eat. She had stopped by her parent’s bakery quickly got two croissants heated up and on the go.

Tom and Sabine gushed about how thankful they were to have Ladybug and Chat Noir to protect their beloved city. With a bag of fresh baked goods in hand, Marinette saluted her parents and hit them with her trademark, “Bug out!” before she swung away on her yo-yo.

Marinette realized she couldn’t transform back into Marinette wearing Adrien’s shirt and her incredibly short “shorts” without people asking her some very embarrassing questions or someone in the apartment time foyer noticing. Instead she opted to try a stealth maneuver. She dove into the apartment building onto the quiet third floor through and open window. It took a moment as she assessed the building for movement. When she was sure she was clear, she swung through the window and landed quietly. She needed to reach the elevator and transform before anyone noticed her.

She walked quickly and breathed a sigh of relief one she reached the elevator.

Marinette pushed the button and the car chimed as hit her level. In the empty elevator, she sighed. “Spots off.”

A bright red flash of light enveloped her as she detransformed.

“Well that was an interesting morning.” Tikki floated at Marinette’s eye level.

“What do you mean Tikki?” Marinette hadn’t thought the morning had been too weird.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to be able to change back without anyone noticing!” Tikkie giggled. “But I think you did a great job! Did you happen to get anything for me Marinette, I’m pretty hungry.”

“Here Tikki,” Marinette said pulling a corner off her croissant, “You can have part of my croissant.”

She made her way to Adrien’s door and as she reached for the handle she realized she didn’t have a key. She hoped that he had forgotten to lock it in his buzzed stupor.

She was in luck! She slipped through the door quietly, not sure if Adrien was awake or not. Either way, she wasn’t about to risk waking him up. She decided she would go check his room. If he was asleep then she would go wait him out in the guest room if he wasn’t he’d get a toasty croissant.

***

Adrien held his Chat Noir transformation longer than he needed to. His enhanced hearing would be allow him to hear Marinette come through the front door.

He had laid across the bed and stared at the ceiling. He focused on how it felt to be his most authentic self. He didn’t have to fake smiles as Chat Noir. On a typical patrol only day, Adrien stayed transformed as Chat Noir for as long as Plagg could hold out. Adrien felt more comfortable as Chat. He was able to pretend Adrien didn’t exist for a while.

Plus, he didn’t have to hear Plagg moan about cheese just yet. He lay in his bed looked up at the ceiling. Something he did far too frequently when he should have slept at night. Adrien took a deep breath. He filled his lungs and closed his eyes. If he laid still enough he could feel his heart beat through his body. That’s exactly what he had been doing when he heard the gasp.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!” Marinette blurted, she couldn’t stop herself. It just came out of her. She had only wished to peek in the door and to check if Adrien was still asleep. Instead, she had found a fully awake Chat Noir in his place. “Holy fuck,” slipped out of her mouth for a second time.

“Chat Noir…. You’re _Adrien Agreste_? OHMYGOD!” She couldn’t stop herself.

“OHMYGOD! Adrien…. YOU’RE CHAT NOIR?” She began to hyperventilate and dropped the bag of croissants in the hallway.

His eyes shot open and he bolted upright. How had he not heard her? Was she a fucking ninja or something? Oh, fucking well, on to damage control. That was all he could do now.

“Well, the _cha_t’s out of the bag.” He grinned at her cheekily.

_Well_, he thought to himself, f_uck_.

“Marinette, are you ok?” He surveyed her face. She looked like she had seen a ghost. HE decided she needed to sit down. He walked over to the stunned woman and reached for her hand.

He guided Marinette to his bed and sat her down next to himself. The pair sat in the most uncomfortable and awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity.

Marinette looked up at him like a kid on Christmas morning. Not ready to risk waking up her parents, but also unable to refrain from opening gifts.

“Plagg, claws in,” he called out defeated.

As his suit fell away and his kwami reappeared, he watched Marintte’s face. He looked to Plagg who assessed the situation on his own and became scarce. Thankfully the little cheese eating monster had been socially aware enough to hide without direction from his miraculous holder.

Adrien had to talk to Marinette who happened to still be in shock.

He was unable to come up with an excuse for what she had just witnessed. Rather than tell her that her eyes had lied to her, he decided to be honest with her. That is, if she ever came to. She already knew who he was, it’s not like he could make the situation worse. At least, he thought so. Her eyes were wide and she still looked like she might cry, but at least she had stopped saying “holy shit” every .8 seconds. 

The longer they sat there, the more uncomfortable things became.

Adrien spoke first.

“Hey, I’m sure that when you thought of Chat Noir I wasn’t what you had in mind. But I’m still me, just Adrien Agreste. It’s just that sometimes I wear a tight leather suit and protect Paris from big bads.”

He laughed, as he tried to make light of the situation.

He was going to have to pull out some of his classic Chat Noir charm to get himself out of this one.

In the last 10 years, he’d had some close calls when it came to keeping his identity a secret. But he had never actually revealed himself to anyone.

It was pretty uncomfortable to attempt to explain that he was part of the crime fighting duo. Everything he wanted to say felt cheap. When he imagined his reveal, to anyone, not specifically Marinette, he imagined that the person would be accept who he was. But Marinette didn’t seem to be excited to know that he was Chat Noir.

He sighed and looked down at his feet. He pretended that his toes were suddenly the most fascinating part of his body. His gut dropped when he heard laughter erupt from the wide-eyed woman who sat in his bed. He had seriously fucked up.

_He thinks that I’m upset that he’s Chat Noir._ Marinette realized _very_ quickly. It also happened to be when the giggles had set in. She couldn’t help it.

Adrien, her high school crush, this tall handsome fucker,_ he_ was her _Chaton_. Her laughs had turned to deep, painful, belly laughs. _How would I be upset about this? _

She needed to start forming words. But why hadn’t she been able to stop her laughter?

Her brain must have stopped working somewhere between the doorway and the bed.

She decided that she needed to reveal her identity. It just made sense. Chat Noir was Adrien. Adrien was Chat Noir. She had just learned his biggest secret. Her reaction to Chat Noir’s civilian identity hadn’t been ideal. Now she risked the same pain as she decided to call out.

“Tikki, spots on.”

The familiar red glow covered her body and turned her into Ladybug.

It was Adrien’s turn to sit in a wide eyed in a mouth agape stupor.

She turned to Adrien, she bumped his shoulder with hers, “I might not have thought of you as being Chat Noir, but I bet you didn’t think I’d be Ladybug.” She smiled over at him.

Adrien seemed to bluescreen the same way Marinette had. He sat and stared at her. For the first time in all the years that she had known him, she was unable to read his face.

It was her turn to ache defeatedly. Maybe_ he_ was disappointed _she_ was Ladybug. Adrien had always seemed to like her. But maybe in his mind his Ladybug and counterpart was someone who had their life together. Someone who was strong outside of the suit. 

“Tikki. Spots off.” She de-transformed quietly back into Marinette.

As her kwami came into being, Tikki also read the room and made herself scarce.

The pair sat in silence for a while. They simply existed together as two halves of a whole.

Finally, their biggest secrets were revealed.

***

Marinette spoke first, “Hey, Adrien. I think I need to start getting on my way. I know you probably have a lot to think about, but I just want you to know before I go that I’m happy it’s you.” She stood up next to him and rubbed his shoulder.

“Marinette, please wait.” He reached for her hand as he stood. He invaded her personal space as he had just an hour ago as Chat Noir. He pulled her into a hug so close she could feel his heart beat in his chest. She felt him rest his head on top of hers.

“Marinette, you’re milady. I have dreamed knowing the person behind the Ladybug mask since I first laid eyes on you. Now that I know who you are, I feel stupid that it’s taken me this long to see it.” Adrien sounded sincere.

Marinette pulled out from his hug just enough to see that his smile was genuine. “You aren’t disappointed that I’m Ladybug?”

“Absolutely not. But gaging from how you reacted to me, you aren’t exactly elated that you know who I am,” He turned his face away from her. Hurt evident in his tone.

Marinette reached a hand to his cheek and pulled his face over to look her in the eye. “Adrien, I’m not disappointed in the least. Shocked? Yes. Disappointed? Not at all.” She paused for a moment, “Do you remember in high school, I had all those pictures of you on my wall?”

Adrien nodded, “But that was because you are into fashion-”

“The fact that you fell for that,” Marinette cut him off, “is hilarious. I had all those pictures of you on my wall because I was super into _you_.”

He stared at her dumbly for a minute. “But… that means that you’ve had a crush on me for like 10 years. Why haven’t you said anything sooner?”

Marinette blushed at his question. “Because you’re _Adrien Agreste_ and I’m just Marinette Dupain-Cheng. There was absolutely no way you’d be interested in me.” She finished in a quiet voice, just above a whisper. She looked into Adrien’s eye.

Her gaze was met with raw emotion.

“How do you feel about me, as Adrien?” His question was direct and to the point.

“I like you, I think you’re a great guy. Out of my league of course,” Marinette fiddled with her fingers.

He kept his eyes locked on hers. “How do you feel about me, as Chat Noir?”

Marinette looked at his chest as she answered, there was no way she could meet his eye. “I’ve had feelings for Chat Noir for the last couple of years. Real feelings. Feelings that have gotten in the way of me having a long-term relationship with anything but my vibrator.” Her face turned pink.

Adrien’s chest rumbled with low laughter. “Marinette, can you look me in the eye?” he reached for her chin and pulled it close to his.

“Can I do this?” He asked dropping his face close to her. Marinette nodded wide eyed. He dropped his lips to hers and kissed her. It wasn’t a peck, or a friendly kiss. It was a kiss that lived up to years of yearning and longing. It was they kind of kiss that only happened in fairy tales. Marinette kissed Adrien with everything she had. Her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him in as close as she could. This was the love of her life. Her kitty. Her Adrien. Her Chat Noir. This man was everything she had ever wanted.

Her hands wound into his messy blond curls. She felt his erection as it pressed into her abdomen. She nibbled his bottom lip which, caused the erection to twitch. He lifted her up and she swung her legs around his hips. His strong arms supported her body with his hands on her ass, squeezing and pulling her close. She wanted him to know, without using a single word, that she would be forever be grateful that he was her person.

That is until she had the most intrusive thought ever. 

“Adrien, we need to stop,” she panted and tried to gain her composure.

Adrien pulled out of the kiss, “Why on god’s green planet do we have to stop?”

“Adrien, we aren’t supposed to know each other’s identities. I think we need to go see Master Fu and talk with him about us. We may have just fucked up being Ladybug and Chat Noir forever.” Her gut dropped at the thought.

Adrien pursed his lips, as he put Marinette back on her own two feet. “Son of a bitch. I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“Hey,” Marinette started as she caught Adrien’s face with her hands, “Even if this is the end of us being super heroes, I would still like to ride this out. I have never had anyone I could talk to about all my Ladybug stuff.”

She rubbed her thumb against the stubble on his cheek. “I would really like to have someone in my life who understood what it feels like to live the way I do.” She kissed him lightly on the lips.

Adrien grabbed her hand and kissed into her palm. It gave her shivers. “Of course, milady. Anything for you.”

***

They changed into appropriate street clothes. Marinette still wearing the lined black t-shirt sans bra, and the comfy sweat pants she had worn over last night. Adrien threw on a black band tee and joggers.

“Adrien, do you have anything sweet, like some cookies or anything in your cupboards. That’s the second time Tikki’s had to transform and I want to get her something.” Marinette asked as she grabbed her cross body purse and stowed Tikki in her usual place.

Adrien nodded. “Totally, let’s see what we can find. I’m sure Plagg will want some cheese too.”

As they made their way to the kitchen, Adrien reached for Marinette’s hand. “Are you sure you aren’t bothered by this.”

Marinette stopped dead in her tracks, “Adrien Agreste, I promise you, I am very happy to find that you are the man behind the mask. I would like to go on a date and get to know you a little more, but I can tell you right now, I’m not at all bothered.” She pecked his cheek lightly.

They had made it to the kitchen.

“For cookies or any other sweets, check that cabinet,” Adrien pointed to a door next to the sink. “Also, I took you on a date last night.”

Marinette laughed, “Please, you asked me to an event that you were already planning to attend. That’s not a date, at least not a proper, ‘I’ll pick you up at 7:00’ kind of date that I’m talking about.” She found a box of cookies and pulled them out. She handed one to Tikki and ate one as well.  
“Ok, you’re right. I guess I’ll see when I have an open spot on my calendar and I’ll get back to you.” He pretended to look through his phone for an open date, “Hmm, it seems I am free tonight.”

She looked to Adrien who smiled at her while his kwami ate some cheese from a box he held out. “So what do you say Mr. Agreste, I’ll pick you up at 7:00?” She winked at him. 

***

With their kwami’s back in their hiding places, the couple left the apartment hand in hand and made their way across town to the tiny flat that was Master Fu’s place.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it has taken so long to post an update. Work got CRAZY busy and I haven't had a moment to myself. I hope you all continue to enjoy my story. If you have any tips, feel free to comment! I love getting reader feedback.

The walk to Master Fu’s place ended up being longer than usual. They During their walk, they laughed about some of the stupid thigs they had done to save Paris.

“You dove into a fucking T-rex’s mouth.” Adrien started.

“Really, that’s where you want to start? You jumped off a building and refused to transform in midair. You could have splattered!” Marinette threw back at him.

“Seriously? Your gonna bring that up? What about when you thought you could babysit a 2,000-pound infant?” Adrien threw his head back and laughed.

“Remember that time you wore heels and helped me fight Refleckta.” Marinette giggled, “I think that was one of your best outfit changes.”

The banter continued until they reached Master Fu’s door. Marinette was anxious and Adrien didn’t look too comfortable himself. The stark reality of potentially losing their kwamis was one neither of them had actually thought through. This had never been part of the plan. 

Adrien had wanted to be Chat Noir as long as he possibly could. If he was Master Fu’s age and was still able to transform, that would have been a dream come true. Now, has he stood at this apartment door, he knew the fate of Chat Noir rested in the hands of a grumpy old man. 

Adrien met Marinette’s eye. Even if he was felt shitty, he could make his lady feel more confident. “Hey, it will all be ok. Don’t worry about it.” He kissed her forehead. Partly for her sake, but mostly for his. He knew this could be the last time he was be able to do so as both Adrien and Chaton. There were so many unknowns yet to come. 

As Marinette reached to knock on the door, it started to open. The petite Asian man stood as though he had waited for them. He gave them a steely look before he stepped aside. 

“Come on in you two, it seems we need to have a long talk.” Master Fu was headed for the small living area that was set with his Miraculous box and a tea set for three.

The pair sat down next to each other and looked around awkwardly. Plagg and Tikki made their appearances from their holders hiding places. 

“It’s not their fault Master Fu!” Tikki wanted Master Fu to know that they hadn’t blatantly ignored any of the rules the old man had explicitly laid out.

“Yeah,” Plagg was ready to defend Adrien for as long as he could, “It was a silly mistake! I’m sure we can all forget about this as soon as a nice piece of camembert is served!”

“That’s enough you two. Why don’t you go join the other kwamis or wait silently while we talk.” Master Fu didn’t seem to be in the best mood to have this conversation.

The kwamis looked to their miraculous holders. The kids may have screwed up, but they would always be loyal to their person. They stayed silently floating next to their respective holder.

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other. Each of them had a slight blush on their face. 

Master Fu took a seat on the ground. He sighed deeply. “The only rule you guys had was to not reveal your identities.”

Marinette started, “Master Fu, it was really all my fault… If I hadn’t checked on Adrien to see if he was awake, I would have no idea.”

“Actually sir, it’s my fault. I should have transformed back as soon as I got to my apartment. But…” he looked down at his feet, “I just feel more comfortable in my Chat Noir suit than I have ever felt in my Adrien skin.”

Plagg floated closer to his holders cheek and brushed it lightly. 

“But I shouldn’t have revealed myself to you either. Knowing that your Chat Noir wasn’t a valid enough reason to expose who I am.” Marinette’s voice dropped and she looked at the ground. Barely holding back tears as Tikki nudged her cheek. “I’m so sorry we disappointed you Master. Just, please,” the tears were rolling down her cheeks now, she fought a losing battle to keep her tears bottled up, “please don’t take Tikki away from me.”

Adrien reached out and rub Mari’s shoulder. He wasn’t able to do much else. The thought of losing Plagg was too much for him to bear. 

“Wait,” Master Fu looked confused, “Why are you talking about giving me your kwamis back? Are you tired of being Ladybug and Chat Noir? Are you ready to retire or something?”

Marinette’s head jerked up, her eyes red and puffy, “What do you mean? Being Ladybug is the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I don’t ever want to stop protecting Paris.”

“Yeah,” Adrien chimed in, “Being Chat Noir is the only place I feel truly myself. I’m nowhere near ready to give that up.”

“Well then, I don’t see why we are all here having this discussion then.” Master Fu’s mood seemed to improve. He was still irritated at something. 

“But… it was the only rule that you gave us… Keeping our identities a secret at all cost…” Marinette stared at the old man dumbfounded. 

Adrien wasn’t able to formulate any response. He was just as confused as Marinette. If they hadn’t broken some insane cosmic rule, why was Master Fu being so grumpy?

“Marinette, Adrien. Look, I’ll be honest with both of you. You are two parts of a whole, you complete each other. You are Yin, and you are Yang,” he pointed to them respectively. “You cannot have destruction without creation and vice versa. Both of you have been written together for as long as far back fates can write. You will always come back to each other. Chat Noir and Ladybug. You will never find another single person to compliment you so perfectly. As soon as you became your super hero identity, you were destined to find out each other’s identities.”

Adrien and Marinette looked at Master Fu as though molecular reconstruction was a much simpler science to understand.

“But…” Marinette started, “If we were supposed to be together, wouldn’t our kwamis have told us?” She turned to look at Tikki. The red Kwami stared back with wide eyed and shrugged.

“Oh, no. They remember their big stuff, extinction of dinosaurs if you will,” Master Fu gave a very pointed look at Plagg who was wore cheeky grin in response. “But they don’t always remember the smaller things such as who their Miraculous holders love. Plagg and Tikki have been with every other Chat Noir and Ladybug across all of time, but they rarely get to work as closely as you two have in the last couple of years. Contrary to popular belief, the Miraculous are only pulled out in times of desperation. We haven’t had any need for them in a while. And often, they are only used a handful of times in a typical human’s life time.”

Adrien spoke first this time, “So what you’re saying is that Marinette and I are meant to be together because we are miraculous holders?”

“Simply put, yes. And honestly, I’ve been rooting for you guys to get together for so long, I’m actually relieved that this is finally coming about. The only reason I gave you both that silly rule was to 1) minimize how many people you would tell which was apparently no one because neither of you have ever told a soul that you’re a super hero. And 2) you were 14. Do you really think you were ready to know this information at 14? That you had a destined love of your life. That’s some pretty heavy stuff for adults, let alone teens.” Master Fu smiled, but still seemed distracted as he looked over his shoulder and into his kitchen.

“If this is such a good thing, then why do you seem so annoyed with us right now? Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing that I get to stay Ladybug, but is there something bothering you?” Marinette was able to grasp that she could still be Ladybug, but she struggle to come to terms that Adrien Agreste was her fated love.  
But Master Fu hadn’t exactly been welcoming or forthcoming with all this information. 

“Marinette, I’m sorry to come off short, but I’m missing the playoffs for the world cup right now and I have some money down on a team. I know I can’t focus on that game when I have Paris’s favorite super heroes coming to me with life altering information.” 

“You have money down on a soccer game?” It was the second time that day that Marinette broke out into hysterical giggles. “Please sir, go watch your game. We will get out of your hair.”

And just like that, Master Fu was in his kitchen crowded his TV as he cheered his team.  
Wayzz floated behind him at a slower pace, “I am so sorry you guys, come back if couple days if you would like some more information on the pairing of these two miraculous. 

Plagg and Tikki looked at their Miraculous holders. 

“Fated together, huh?” Plagg looked at Marinette, “How do you feel about cheese?”

“I really like camembert, what’s your favorite Plagg?” Marinette asked the tiny black creature.

“Adrien, I think you’d better marry her,” Plagg said with heart eyes. 

“Plagg, please, I beg you... get back to your spot.” Adrien was significantly redder than Marinette had ever seen him. 

Adrien pulled Marinette in for their second kiss, it was delicate and sweet. There were no desperate grabs and attempts to memorize the others body. This was a soft and sensual kind of kiss. It was a breathless and love drunk kiss. The kind if kiss that warmed a soul and melted hearts and dissipated fears.. 

“Good bye, Master Fu,” the pair called in unison. 

“Good bye, my super heroes! GO GET HIM 16!!!!” Master Fu cheered from the kitchen. 

Adrien reached for the door and pulled it open. 

“After you, milady,” he said it with a slight bow and a showy wink.

Marinette giggled, “Adrien, your Chat Noir is showing.” She walked out if the small apartment and her phone vibrated in her purse. She reached for it. It might be her mom about their weekend dinner plans.

“Well now that I don’t have to hide it so much, I may as well have fun with it.” They stood on the door step to the apartment. “So do you have any plans this weekend?”  
Adrien turned to face Marinette. She was as red as a tomato and showed no signs of being a functional human. Instead, she just held her phone inches from his face.

[GURL! I knew you were going with Adrien to the charity event last night, but you didn’t mention that you and Adrien would be eye fucking AND KISSING all night.] The picture directly below the text was a very flirtatious pose of the two of them standing far closer than he had remembered being. The next photo was a snap shot of them kissing on the dance floor. And was the slit in her dress really that high? 

Alya’s text had made Marinette blush 47 shades of red. She knew Adrien had asked her a question, but she was also incapable of thinking about anything other than the fact that Alya had said she and Adrien had been eye fucking at the charity event the night before. Right now, Mari was overwhelmed and not ready to answer that text.  
Of course, being Alya, the texts weren’t done coming. 

[BTW, I totally love that dress. Did you buy it or make it? I need something just like it for my honeymoon]

[Adrien looks amazing too! That red jacket… He sure knows how to work it. Huh?]

[Together, you look like you were inspired by Chat Noir and Ladybug, you know with the red and black.]

[You and Adrien look better together than LB and CN though, much more real.]

The last text sent the couple into a laughing fit. Adrien busted up laughing, and Marinette couldn’t hold back the giggles. “If she only knew…” Marinette’s color started to normalize to her fair shade. “I know you were saying something, and I cut you off. I’m sorry, what were you asking?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if we could go back to your place or my place and have an extremely long discussion about the black chaton in the room.” A mischievous grin played on his lips. 

“Oh Kitty, I will always make time to talk to you. Let me just text her back… We can go back to your place,” Marinette looked down, “I still haven’t gathered my things from last night, and I’d love to give you back your clothes, they aren’t exactly mine after all.” She pulled at the black tee shirt.

“On the contrary,” Adrien smiled at her, “I think you look fucking fantastic.” 

Marinette giggled and dodged his flurry of kisses. “I need to reply to her or she won’t stop, you know Alya!” Marinette typed quickly. 

[Alya, we’ll talk later this weekend, I promise! But right now, I’m still kind of hanging out with Adrien. Love you babes, I’ll text you!] Marinette added some kissing emojis at the end of her text. She knew it wouldn’t slow the onslaught of texts from her human best friend, but maybe she would take it better.

[MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG]

[YOU SLY DOG! OMG! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!!!!]

[Mari and Adrien sitting in a tree…]

Marinette slid her phone to do not disturb. She would deal with that later. Right now, she wanted to focus her attention on Adrien.

Marinette took a step forward before she realized that she was going in the wrong direction. She looked over her shoulder at Adrien, “Where you going to stop me from going the wrong way... orrr?”

“Bugaboo, I will follow you anywhere. You just lead the way.” Adrien’s eyes were soft as he looked down at Marinette. 

Man, this place is beautiful. I would die to live somewhere like this. It’s so modern and chic.” Marinette’s eyes wandered over the foyer while they waited for the elevator. 

“It’s not as great as it seems. Trust me,” Adrien’s tone caught Mari off guard. 

She turned to face him and reached for his hand. “What’s wrong Adrien?” 

The elevator sounded at its arrival. 

They boarded the elevator. Once the doors shut Adrien faced her, “It’s not great because living here means that I am still under my dad’s thumb. I might not be in the Agreste prison… I mean mansion anymore, but every single person in the lobby reports back to him. If I bring someone home, what time I get home, if I actually attend my workouts at the gym. I feel like I am constantly being watched by Nathalie and Gorilla. Hell, he probably already knows that you stayed the night and will be asking me about it first thing Monday morning. ” He sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to unload on you.”

“Hey, it’s ok. And I can totally see the similarities between the two places. Your feelings are valid.” Marinette hugged Adrien around his middle. His arms circled around her as they held each other in silence through the duration of the elevator ride.

At his floor, they stepped out hand in hand. 

When they reached his door, Adrien took his hand back to fish for the keys in his pocket. 

She looked around, and took in her surroundings once again admiring the beautiful room. She was still embarrassed that she had asked him over to her place yesterday on a whim when the whole flat needed to be cleaned and organized.

“I’m sorry that my place isn’t as nice as yours.” Marinette apologized as she shut the door behind them. 

“Marinette, stop apologizing.” Adrien pulled her close to him. “My place might be bigger and cleaner, but your place feels like a home.” He kissed the top of her head. As Marinette tried to pull away, he squeezed her tighter and kissed the top of her head. “Honestly, I wish my place was more like yours.” He dropped his arms and Marinette walked over to the coffee table in the middle of his pristine living room.

“You wish you had more dirty socks hiding under your furniture?” She laughed and thought about her place. 

Adrien laughed, “Maybe not the dirty socks, but definitely the independence of my name on the lease.” His brow furrowed as he sat on the comfortable couch.

“Wait, if your name’s not-” Marinette started.

“My father’s.” Adrien finished her thought. “He leases the place and I model for him. It’s not my ideal situation, but it keeps a roof over my head.” He watched Mari for her response. She sat on one of the sofas and he decided to sit next to her. The tension was almost tangible between them. Adrien turned to Mari and was promptly pounced on. “I bet you thought only cats could pounce huh.” She breathed the last part in his ear and nibbled the lobe lightly before meeting his gaze.

With Marinette above him, Adrien didn’t want to move. He reached for her face and pulled her on to him. He ran his hands across her body as he kissed her. Marinette arched into his touch, each caress had made her skin feel electric. She wound her hands into his hair and ground her hips against pelvis. Adrien bit at Marinette’s bottom lip and kissed his way down her jaw line.

“Chaton,” the moan escaped from Marinette’s lips.

“Yes, Milady?” Adrien replied between desperate kisses.

“We need to stop.” Marinette choked out. “I want to go on a date with you. I want to get to know you again. Before we do this.” She waved her hand between their bodies.

Adrien nodded in agreement. “I know Bugaboo. What kind of date were you thinking of? Dinner and a movie or something else?” The conversation slowed the erotic thoughts that raced through his head. 

“Let me think on that for a moment. Until then, do you wanna fuck with Alya some more?” Marinette wanted to plan out the perfect date for her and Adrien, but she also wanted to mess with her human BFF a little. 

“I always want to give Alya shit.” Adrien grinned at Marinette. “It will be just like old times.”

“Alright, let’s FaceTime her… But I want you to stay out of sight for a few minutes.” Marinette spoke and dialed at the same time.

The line rang one and a half times before her friend answered. Alya looked good, her hair was pulled back and she wore contacts. That meant it was a work day. Journalism never slept, and Alya would be the first to tell anyone who asked. 

“Heyyyyy! MARINETTE!!!!! So, tell me. You finally kissed Adrien, remember all that dreaming of it from high school? Was it all that you’d hoped it would be? He wasn’t a fish lips kisser was he? Why did you guys kiss?” Alya spoke a hundred miles an hour.

“Alya, breeeeeathe!” Marinette laughed. She looked at Adrien who had clapped a hand over his mouth and shook with silent laughter. “You are asking a thousand questions. I can only answer them one at a time.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll slow down if I must.” She sighed for dramatic effect. “Ok, so was Adrien at least a good kisser? Wait… move the camera down again.”

Marinette paused and a sly grin spread across her face. How had she forgotten she was still in Adrien’s old shirt. “Why do I need to move the camera? Is my face not worthy of looking at?” She blushed bright pink.

“MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG ARE YOU WEARING ADRIEN AGRESTE’S SHIRT?” Alya screeched into the phone.

Adrien had shook from head to toe. He had been consumed with mostly silent laughter.

Marinette scowled at both of them. She had wanted to fuck with Alya. Not the other way around. 

“As a matter of fact it is. And yes, Adrien is quiet a good kisser actually.” Marinette blushed as she smiled sweetly at her BFF and shot dagger eyes over to Adrien who stopped shanking and was now paying attention to the conversation. 

Alya stared with her jaw open at Marinette. The line was silent for a beat.

“Did you two hook up? Is that how you got the shirt? Was he any good in bed? Is he like this, or like this-” she held her hands out to show sizes “-girl, start answering my questions!” Alya asked and Marinette’s blush deepened. 

Adrien moved into the frame and scooted closer to Mari on the couch. When he came into view Alya actually lost it. 

“OH MY GOD!!! Marinette, you’re still with Adrien… heh heh.. I’m going to um, I’ve got to go wash our dog.” Alya spluttered frantically.

“Alya, it looks like you’re at work and I don’t recall you having a dog.” Adrien laughed and wrapped his arm around Marinette and pulled her close. “Why don’t you and Nino meet us for a drink tonight, and maybe between now and then Marinette and I will hook up so she can actually answer some of your questions.”

Marinette looked over at Adrien who wore a smug grin. “You’re a goddamn mess.”  
She turned to Alya who seemed embarrassed for the first time during the conversation. “Seriously, meet us for a drink tonight! I haven’t seen you in ages! We can go to that little place just down the street from your place.” 

“Ok, I get off at 5:00, want to meet around 6:30. I’ll text Nino in a minute.” Alya spoke excitedly. 

Marinette looked at Adrien who nodded, “Yes, 6:30 is perfect. We’ll see you there.” The line disconnected.

Marinette turned to Adrien who had started to toy with her hair. “You’re such a chaotic neutral aren’t you? Telling her we would have time to hook up before dinner tonight.” 

Adrien kissed her cheek, “What if that is my plan?

Marinette laughed, “What if I’m a lady who is saving herself for marriage?”

Adrien kissed down her neck, “Then marry me.”

Marinette pushed away from him, “You want to marry me to get into my pants?” Her voice came out sharp as her eyes narrowed.

“Not at all. I want to marry you because of who you are. The person I’ve been in love with for 10 years. You’re milady, remember? Those heartfelt displays of love and affection, those have never been fake.”

Marinette softened and relaxed into him as he continued kissing down her neck. “You are my Ladybug. You are Marinette. You are a fucking amazing person. You are gorgeous. You are my other half. My partner. I’d marry you tomorrow if you’d have me.” He kissed her collar bone.

Marinette blushed. “Adrien, we still haven’t gone on a single date, what if you don’t like how I eat spaghetti and you don’t realize it until we are married and have two pet hamsters. And then you feel trapped with someone you can’t stand to eat spaghetti with?” Marinette sounded crazy even to herself, but Adrien was the one who said he would marry her tomorrow and that was crazy. 

Adrien smiled and wrapped his arms around her. 

“Marinette,” he pulled her close into his chest, “I don’t care how you eat spaghetti. Also, we are totally naming one of the hamsters Phillip.” He laughed as she swatted at him. “In all seriousness, I’d marry you whenever you want. Today, tomorrow, 10 years from now. My proposal will never expire. Now, to change the subject, are you still wanting to get your stuff from my apartment or do you want to move in? I’m really fine with whichever option you pick. ”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “Not today Kitty, maybe tomorrow.”

She winked at him and went to gather her things.


	7. Chapter Seven

He rose from the couch and out stretched his hand. “Milady. Feel free to keep that shirt, it looks good on you. He winked and ducked into the kitchen to make coffee. Marinette’s face pinkened, and she looked down. “I don’t know if I will ever fully get used to hearing you calling me milady.” Adrien tilted his head as he looked at her, “If it makes you uncomfortable, I can stop.” 

“No!” Her eyes widened. “Don’t stop calling me that… I just need to get used to the fact that Adrien Agreste is my Chat Noir.” She felt the heat in her cheeks. She didn’t mean to blurt it out quite so quickly. She looked down, her cheeks still flamed. “I really like when you call me that. I know I’ve said differently…” Her voice trailed off.

Adrien walked down the hall. Marinette met Adrien’s bright green gaze.

“Not to be a know it all, but I can tell.” He booped her nose as he winked at her. “Now, how do you want your coffee?" He headed back into the kitchen 

“Wait, how do you know? I’ve never told anyone about liking being called ‘Milady’ not even Tiki knows that I like it.” Marinette looked around to see where exactly Tiki had floated off to. The Kwami appeared and nodded her head in 

Adrien chuckled, “Marinette, I have known you for years. Maybe I haven’t know that you are Ladybug, but I do know that Ladybug gets this soft look in her eye every time I call her ‘Milady’ especially when she tells me to stop calling her that name. So, coffee? Black? Cream? Sugar? What's the deal, because I absolutely need caffeine."

Marinette stared at him for a moment. “Cream and sugar please.” 

Adrien had started the Keurig, "Any special type of coffee? I have hazelnut or french vanilla." "Hazelnut is fine," Marinette called from down the hall. “This is going to take some getting used to isn’t it.” Her eyes met Tiki’s knowing gaze. The kwami flew up to hug Marinette’s cheek. "It might take some time, but I think you will find it you will find it worth your while in the long run." The kwami floated around and watched Mari pack. With Tikki's help, Marinette had gathered her things in no time and brought them down the hall. The smell of coffee floated down the hall and helped hurry her along. “Ok, so you got everything from the guest room, is there anything in my room you need to grab?” Adrien looked over at Marinette. 

“I really don’t think so. If you find something you could always bring it back when you pick me up for our date." The phrase 'our date' sent shivers down her spine. The duo sat at the breakfast bar and drank their coffee quietly. Marinette toyed with the spoon she had used to mix the cream. "Adrien, I know you said you were excited that I am Ladybug," she couldn't meet his eye, "but did you ever envision anyone else as Ladybug?" Adrien thought for a moment and took a deep pull of his coffee. "I hadn't really envisioned anyone as Ladybug I guess. I never hoped she was a specific person or wanted her to be anyone that I knew. What about you, did you ever have hopes for who Chat Noir was?" "No." Marinette was able to answer quickly, because like Adrien, she never really tried to put a face behind the mask. "I just hoped that one day I would get to meet my partner. I didn't know that my partner would be so close to me." She waited a moment before adding, "Are you sure you aren't disappointed? The great and wonderful Ladybug has anxiety and a counselor." Adrien chuckled, "Bugaboo, anyone who works for my father should be automatically put on anti-anxiety medication. I'm proud of you for taking the step that I'm too afraid to take. I'm worried about what people will say if they hear that the perfect Adrien Agreste needs therapy and probably a fair amount of medication." He looked at Marinette who watched him quietly, "Maybe one day I'll be as brave as you." He reached for her face and stroked his thumb across her cheekbone. "I think you're amazing Marinette. Not just because you're Ladybug, but because you're fierce and strong and determined." "Alright, enough of the gooshy shit. Can I please get some cheese?" Plagg ruined the moment in the most Plagg way possible. "Plagg!" Tikki shot across the room and put her little paw over his mouth. "Shut up and let them talk. They are sharing some important moments here." Unfortunately the moment was long gone, but the duo laughed at their kwamis. They finished their coffee and Marinette went to gather her things to head out. Adrien pulled her in for one last bone crushing hug, "I know it's dumb because it's only going to be a few hours, but I'm going to miss you." Marinette smiled, "I'll miss you too Chaton." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek before she added, “hey, Adrien..” She reached for his face. Her thumb lightly brushed his cheek, “You can come stay at my place any time you want. It’s not nearly as roomy and open, but it may be a comfortable place to hide from your dad when you need to. If I had know how rough this place was, I would have offered you my place a long time ago.”  
Adrien pulled her into another hug. “Oh, Marinette.” He knew he was always welcome at Nino’s place, but Adrien never felt comfortable staying more than one night at a time every couple of months. He knew that Nino and Alya were doing their best to be real adults, and that didn’t include an oversized man child crashed on their couch with any frequency. “I appreciate your offer Marinette. I really do.”

It wasn’t the reaction she had expected, but then she didn’t know what she had been expecting to begin with. So she held him for a while longer. Adrien clearly needed the human contact. 

After a few moments the couple separated. "Alright, I'm really leaving now. I will see at 5:45 at my place right? We are meeting Alya and Nino at 6:30." Marinette double checked. "Yes, Maribug, I will be there at 5:45. If you're lucky, I'll be there with bells on." He fiddled with the spot where his bell would be if he was suited up. Marinette rolled her eyes as she walked out of his apartment. 

***

As Adrien wandered back to his room. All he could think of was how easy it was to get Marinette worked up. How her cheeks had flushed dark pink as he kissed her. To be fair, their kisses were passionate and had done a number on him as well. He walked back to his room with a stiffy from just thinking about kissing her. He was thankful for the quiet. He needed some time to think. He tried to empty his mind, but all he could do was think about was Ladybug. About Marinette. About how they were the same person. His mind took him to the number of filthy thoughts he'd had over the years about Ladybug. 

Of what he wanted to do if he ever found out her identity. How he wanted to push her up against a wall and let his mouth move across her body. How he wanted to have her legs wrapped around as she ground into him. How he wanted to have his hands on her ass. How he wanted to bury his face in between her breast and leave love bites all over them. How he wanted trail kisses down her long legs. How he wanted to taste her. How he wanted to feel her delicate flesh around his length. 

None of these thoughts helped his erection. So he grabbed his cock and started sliding his hand up and down while he thought of Ladybug and Marinette simultaneously. Of how he might be able to act on these fantasies. Of how soft Marinette's lips were. He came as he thought of what it would be like to have Marinette's pretty little mouth around his shaft. 

Adrien went to the bathroom to clean up and thought of how his date was going to go. In the quiet, his inner monologue was getting louder and crueler by the minute, and Plagg was in his hiding place taking a nap. As he walked back into his room he picked up the remote and put on some generic station that babbled in the background. It helped quiet the bitter voice in his head. 

"You're going to fuck this up," it said, "why are you even trying? You are literally the personification of destruction. Look at all your failed relationships. You don't even have a good relationship with your father. What makes you think that you could actually keep this up with Marinette?"

Adrien shook his head. He refused to accept those thoughts. He instead face planted into his pillow. He was drained. It had been a very interesting day. It had also been more emotionally taxing that he had anticipated. He decided he would take a nap and set his alarm for 4:45. That would give him enough time to get dressed and stop by the flower shop on the way to get Marinette. He grinned to himself as he thought of Marinette. He would definitely quiet that cruel voice. He would do anything, be anything that she needed him to be. He knew that he loved her with his whole heart. Now he needed to be the man she thought he was.


	8. Chapter Eight

Marinette didn't want to leave Adrien's place. She saw the uneasiness in his eye as she left. But she did need to get home and her bags were not getting any lighter. She pulled out her phone, it was easier to Uber back to her place with all the stuff she had. Once she hit the first floor she found a chair and waited. As she sat, she noticed the woman behind the desk glaring at her. Mari pulled her phone out and shot a text to Alya:

[What are you wearing tonight? I'm a little panicked!]

Now there were two women in the foyer. Both of them spoke quietly, but Marinette still heard them.

"Yeah, *that's* the girl he kissed last night," the First Voice dripped with disdain.

"What does he see in her? She's completely average." the Second Voice whined. 

"I have no idea, but I am sending and email to Nathalie stating that she has spent so much time here," Voice One said.

"I'm sure he will be done with her in no time like the other girls he has brought home." Voice Two was snide.

"I bet that they hooked up and that he won't even remember her name in a week." Voice Two was still speaking

Marinette heard light tapping and a "Hmm" that she assumed came from Voice One. 

Voice One spoke, "Here, read this. Does it look good?"

After a brief pause, Voice Two replied. "Yes, that looks good. I think that Nathalie will appreciate the heads up. Maybe they can put some of the tabloids off before they get too wild.

Mari bristled. She wasn't sure what would happen between her and Adrien, but she did know this. She was Ladybug. He was Chat Noir. Their relationship was going to be far from ordinary. Her phone chimed and alerted her that her Uber was close. She gathered her things and stepped out of the oppressive atmosphere that was the foyer. Adrien was right, this place wasn't any better that the mansion that he grew up in. If anything it was worse, Nathalie and Gorilla might have been cold, but they weren't resentful and intentionally cruel. They were professional and did what they were hired to do without gossiping. 

Marinette knew that she shouldn't let the catty women get to her, but a part of what they had said weighed on her. Her phone chimed again with Alya's response.

[I am thinking a dress. Let's FaceTime while we get ready and you can spill more details about your night.]

Mari smiled, he friend was always so eager to get to the bottom of any and all new she could find.

[Sounds like a plan. I may need you to talk me out of a panic attack later. I still can't believe that this is happening!]

Alya responded quickly.

[Mari, it was just a matter of time. You are cut from the same cloth. You will be ok. But yes, I can talk to you. You know I will always be there for you.]

Marinette's heart swelled. She was glad to have such a good friend.

[Thank you Alya. <3]

The driver pulled up to her place. She thanked him and went into her cozy building. It was much more comfortable than the frigid place that Adrien unfortunately had to call home. Tikki popped out of the bag she was once they were safely inside the apartment. 

"Do you want to talk about that, or are you ok," the kwami was always so concerned about her holder. 

Marinette sighed as she dropped her stuff onto the couch before she sorted it out and put her things away. It only took a few minutes. 

"Honestly, it hurt. But I also know that I can't let outside opinions bother me. If I did that, I wouldn't be where I am today." Marinette knew that she couldn't let the words hurt her. If they hurt her, they had power over her. And she wasn't going to let some bitter bitches have the satisfaction of that. 

"Hey Tikki, do you want to go to the bakery or stay here?" 

Tikki looked at her as if she had grown a second head, "What do you think? You know I love your family's baking."

Mari giggled, "I know, but I like to give you the choice." 

The kwami snuggled into Marinette's cheek, "Thank you for that Mari, you're the sweetest."

The walk to the bakery was a short one. She popped into the shop and was met with the smell of bread being baked and cookies being frosted. It was the smell of home, and it made her heart lurch. 

"Mama, Poppa." Marinette called into the shop, it was empty. No one was at the front counter which was weird, but no one was in the shop, so maybe her mom was helping her dad in the back. She made her way behind the counter and went into the kitchen. At the counter and saw Tom kissing Sabine passionately in the kitchen. Her mother was sitting on the counter her dad used to knead bread. Her dad was all over her mom and her mom was moaning into the kissing and pulling Tom as close as she could. The sound that escaped Marinette was somewhere between a giggle and a cough.

She hurried back to the front with a full blush. After a moment her parents wandered into the front of the shop beet red as well. 

Marinette tried hard to meet their eyes, but she couldn't. She knew her parents were as deeply in love as they day they married, but seeing it was always uncomfortable. At least she had only walked in on them kissing this time. She refused to let her mind move to that one time... NOPE, SHE WASN'T GOING THERE!!!! 

"So, I was just stopping by to say that I have a date tonight and I won't be over for dinner. And in hopes of making this not awkward, I'm just going to grab a few macarons and be on my way." Mari spoke quickly and grabbed a few of her favorite and Adrien's favorite flavors putting them into a box and closed the lid. Tom and Sabine just nodded, their faces returning to normal color after a few moments. 

"It wasn't-" Tom started.

"Nope, you guys do what you do. I have moved out. I no longer live here, I should have sent a message that I was on my way. It's fine. I promise." Marinette spoke over the top of her father. "I am happy that you guys are still so in love. But seriously, I have a date to get ready for. So I'll catch up with you guys later. I love you!" She was out the door before her parents could respond. 

She shook her head and hurried back to her apartment. She needed to take a shower and wash off last night, the judgement of the foyer bitches, and the sight of her parents in the bakery. She undressed and headed into the bathroom while Tikki did whatever it was that Tikki did. 

Marinette stepped into the shower. She thought of the days events and how they had unfolded. Adrien was her Chat Noir. They were going on a double date with their best friends. She was simply happy. She had washed her hair and was moving onto washing her body. For just a moment, she thought of Adrien being the one to wash the suds own her body, thought of his hands greedily moving up and down her. She thought of Adrien standing behind her naked, dripping wet, and looking at her lustfully. She removed her shower head and spread her legs while she thought of all the times Chat Noir had shamelessly flirted with her. She moved the flow of water so it was hitting her most sensitive areas. She thought of Adrien's strong muscles, his defined chest, how it would feel to have him moving rhythmically above her with her legs over his shoulders. She came with a yelp. 

Holy fuck. She realized that this wasn't a dream. That Adrien might actually do these things to her. And that only made her come again breathlessly. 

She needed to get her shit together. She only had and hour before he was picking her up and she still needed to FaceTime Alya. She got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. 

Mari dialed Alya's number. It took a few rings but her best friend answered her. 

"Ok, deets. NOW." Alya spoke briskly. 

"Yesterday at work he asked me to go to the charity event with him. Women in the bathroom assumed we were sleeping together. He said, let's give them something to talk about so we danced and got cozy. Then I accidentally kissed him. We went and got a drink. We talked about high school. I got too buzzed to go home and he let me stay the night." She decided to leave out the part where she slept in his bed. "He gave me a comfortable shirt since I didn't plan on staying the night. We got croissants and he walked me back to my apartment." Ok, so that wasn't exactly what happened, but she couldn't exactly tell Alya she found out the identity of Chat Noir and it just so happened to be her long time crush. But it was the gist of what happened dammit!

Alya mulled over the words for a moment, "It sounds like you guys had a good night. And you're being 100% honest when you say that you didn't hook up?"

Marinette rolled her eyes, "Oh my god... yes Alya. If we had had sex, you would be the first person to know. I swear. But no, we just slept and got croissants."

"Now, not to change the subject... But that the fuck do I wear tonight. He saw me in that stunning gown last night, obviously its going to be significantly less formal tonight, but since it is a date, I want to look hot. What do I wear?! Help!!!" The panic rose in Marinette's voice. 

Alya spoke in her Marinette-calm-the-fuck-down-you-got-this voice. "Shhh, ok. What color do you want to wear, let's start there. You wore black last night, so maybe change it up a bit tonight. What about a red dress, you have a few of those. And red always looks so good on you!"

Marinette smiled and blushed slightly. Of course red looked good on her, she was Ladybug after all. 

Mari looked through her closet she pulled out two red dresses, both were cute clubbing dresses. One was a bodycon dress, the other was more flowy. 

"Since you wore a dress that fit you like a glove last night, might I suggest that you wear the red dress with a flowy skirt. It's more fun and flirty." As Alya spoke Marinette nodded and agreed. 

"Ok, that makes sense. Now onto shoes and accessories... Do I do monochrome red? Or do I do black?" Marinette chewed her lip. 

"Definitely black stilettos and your black purse." Alya spoke with authority. It was hard to disagree when someone sounded so sure of them-self.

Mari went to her closet and pulled out the perfect pair of simple patent leather pumps and the beautiful black bag she only used for dates. Marinette started to feel better getting her outfit pulled together and laid out.

"Alya... um..." She felt shy asking this of her bestie, but she knew Alya would give her the best advice. "What should I wear under my dress... you know... just in case things..." Her face flushed at the thought. She remembered how hungrily Adrien had kissed her. She was all in, she knew that, but maybe it would be nice to slow down and really make sure that things were going to pan out.

Alya thought for a moment. "You're wearing a cute but flowy dress, so make sure that your behind is covered just in case the wind blows or something. But we still need something cute... Oh! I know, do you still have that lace bra and panty set? The one that's high waisted and covers your butt cheeks? And wasn't that bra able to turn into a strapless?"

Mari stared at her friend, "How the fuck do you remember my underwear so well?"

Alya shrugged, "I was with you when you bought it and I had to beg you to get it. How would I forget? Have you even worn that set yet?"

Marinette looked down and blushed.

"That's what I thought." Alya said. "So we have your outfit done. What about hair and makeup?"

"I was thinking something simple since its already 5:15. He said he would be here at 5:45. Just blowing my hair out and setting it in curlers for a bit to give my hair some volume. And then a very simple face. Nothing too crazy. Natural eye shadow, maybe a winged liner and a red lip."

Alya smiled proudly, "What do you even need me for? You go this babe. Now, we have you sorted, what should I wear?"

It was Marinette's turn to smile. Styling other people was a thousand times easier than styling herself. " You should wear that a-symmetrical plum bodycon dress that I made you. It shows off your curves beautifully. Nino never keeps his hands off you when you wear it. And pair it with gold strappy heels. And curl your hair. Do a bold plum lip." 

"Why can't you do this for yourself?" Alya laughed but headed to her closet grabbing the items that Marinette suggested. 

Mari moved to her hair quickly blowing out the midnight colored locks. Her hair was long and silky. She was lucky she got her mom's beautiful hair... Which reminded her. 

"Alya... I walked in on my parents again." She cringed as she spoke. 

The belly laugh from Alya made her chuckle as well. "Oh no! Not like-"

"NO!!! Not like that one time. Thank god. This time they were making out like shameless teenagers in the kitchen of the bakery! I swear, I love it for them... but at the cost of my retinas, it's not worth it." Marinette smiled to herself that one day she would be like that with Adrien. She hoped they would make it that far. She thought for a second, wasn't it too early to think stuff like that? Should she be more afraid of things like that? Then she remembered that this was Chat Noir, literally her partner of 10 years, she knew him at his best, she knew him at his worst. She had loved him for years. Not only that, but it was Adrien. Her crush in high school. It wasn't like he was a stranger that she just met. 

Alya started to get ready as well. She'd let her hair down, it fell in a lovely long bob around her face. Mari set her hair. She pulled her dress on and stared working on her makeup. She had about 15 minutes still. She applied her makeup as she had a million times before. It was routine for her at this point. The trick was the winged liner which she even got on the first try. 

As the women got ready, they talked about how things were. There was never a time when Alya couldn't help make Marinette feel more at ease. Marinette was just putting in her earrings when she heard a knock at the door. Her stomach dropped to the floor.

Alya heard and took it as her cue to go. "I'll see you here in a bit!" And she was gone.

"Just a moment!" Mari called out. Her voice only shook a tiny bit. 

She slipped into her heels and grabbed her purse. "Alright Tikki, let's do this. I feel like I'm going to die."

The kwami popped into her purse and gave Mari a thumbs up. "You go this!" 

Marinette's heart raced as she reached the door. It was Adrien for fuck's sake. She shouldn't be this damn anxious! She opened the door and was met with a bouquet of red and white flowers. Her heart swelled. Adrien was one of a kind. And holy f u c k did he look GOOD.

Adrien looked perfect. From his black tailored pants to the white button down shirt that had the top two buttons undone to the gray denim jacket. It was all Marinette could do not to fall over from simply looking at him. His blond hair was slightly damp and started to curl at the ends. He wore the world famous Chat Noir grin. He looked so good that Mari was speechless for a solid minute. She stood in the door way taking in his beauty. He was incredibly handsome. His green eyes sparkled and his white teeth gleamed. 

"Hey Bugaboo, Chat got your tongue?" and there he was, her Adrien. Back to his goofy old self. He walked into the open kitchen/living room space.

Marinette reached for the flowers and at the last second Adrien pulled them back and snagged her in for a hug. 

"You look beautiful," he whispered huskily into her ear. "Are you sure you want to go out, because you look good enough to eat right here."

Mari blushed, "We are meeting Nino and Alya. Yeah we kind of have to go. But..." she sidled up to him and started peppering kisses across his jaw as she grabbed the collar of his pristine white shirt. "If you want to come back here for dessert, I'm sure we could work something out." Her smile was coy and her lids heavy. Being around Adrien gave her the confidence she lacked. 

He set the flowers on the counter and scooped her up placing her next to the abandoned bouquet. He pushed her legs open and slid in between her thighs. His hands crept under the hem of her dress. "Don't tempt me like that unless you mean it. I am entirely yours. Whatever you want, I will give it to you." His hands were almost to her panties. She was completely transfixed by his stare. Marinette didn't want to break the eye contact but she would be reduced to a pile of ash if she didn't look away. 

"Adrien, I told you, you're welcome here anytime, for as long as you want to be here." She said the phrase with conviction and honesty. She would have him for as long as he would have her. 

She met his lips tenderly and kissed him gently. Adrien met her kiss equally as gently. It was a kiss that spoke the words that neither of them had the courage to say yet. "I love you and thank you for accepting me."

This wasn't an average love. This was something more. This was fated. Their love was meant to be, there was no doubt about that. The feelings she'd suppressed for so long were staring her in the face. Those feelings were as deep and vast as the ocean. And equally as scary. But she was ready to embark on the journey. With Adrien, with Chat Noir, she could conquer the world and that's what they would do.


	9. Chapter Nine

The couple got the flowers put into a vase and slipped out of Marinette’s apartment. Adrien had decided that they should take an Uber instead of his driver. I was less showy and more comfortable not being under his father’s thumb. Of course Mari agreed and gave their driver the address.

While they rode in the back seat Adrien asked questions about what else Marinette could make. 

Mari chuckled, “Do you just want to take a look in my closet sometime? I like to buy clothes from amazing designers, but that gets expensive. I typically make most of the clothes I wear.”

Adrien knew that Marinette could make a dress is less time than it took to have a pizza delivered, but the thought of her making her entire wardrobe was simply impressive. 

Marinette knew that he was stunned, she added lightly with a wink, “I also do a lot of Alya’s clothes. She’s going to wear a piece made by me tonight in fact.” 

There were two things Mari was 100% confident in doing. Making dresses and baking bread from scratch with rice flour the way her dad had taught her. 

“So what are your hidden talents?” Marinette asked Adrien.

“Mine not be as impressive as making a dress from thin are or being a master bread baker, and not to brag or anything, but I can wiggle my ears and smell peanut butter from across a room.”

She started dumbfounded. “Those are you talents?” He eyebrows pulled together, “I never would have guessed. The great Adrien Agreste can wiggle his ears and smell peanut butter! Amazing!” She teased.

“I can smell peanut butter from across a room. Not with it just under my nose.” Adrien pouted. 

In reality, Adrien didn’t really have an insane amount of talent, unless you counted the plethora of mental health issues he faced as a talent, then no, he was an open book. He had been interviewed a million times, so anything there was to know about him was as easily accessible as a quick google search.

Hell, even as Chat Noir he could see perfectly in the pitch black, he could hear rodents in the walls with his increased hearing, and he had super powers. But those were Chat’s talents, brought on by Plagg not something he was able to generate by himself.

Marinette laced her fingers through his and pulled his face to hers. “You’re cute when you’re pouty, did you know that?”

Adrien broke into a wide grin, “Ooo, there’s another talent!”

Mari rolled her eyes and laughed. “You’re seriously such a dork.”

“Ah, I may be a dork, but you’re the one who agree to go on a date with me.” Adrien kissed the fingers that were laced through his.

“I know,” Marinette fake grumbled, “don’t remind me.”

They bantered back and forth until they reached their destinatin, it was a bar, not quite a club, there was no line of people waiting to get in, but it was still relatively busy. It was the place that Marinette caught up with Alya and Nino as frequently as their busy schedules allowed. 

[We are here, going to get a table in the back, come find us when you get here.] Marinette sent a text out to Alya to let her friend know that they were a few minutes early.

“Hey, let’s get a table toward the back, I know that’s where you like to go to avoid fans and what not.” Marinette linked her arm through his and Adrien smiled down at her.

“Thank you for remembering that.” It was a small thing, she shrugged it off. But for Adrien, to have someone see a pattern in his tendencies and acknowledge them was not something he was used to. He kissed the top of her head in a silent thanks as they stood in line to be waited on.

Once they reached the front of the line Mari requested the furthest table in the back. The hostess obliged and walked them to the furthest corner of the room. It was a tall table with four barstools and mood lighting. The hostess stepped away from the couple but not before she gave Adrien the head to toe once over. He rolled his eyes.

Fuck, how he wished he could have been a normal 20 something and not have people eye-ball him everywhere he went. 

The look didn’t slip past Mari who stepped right in front of Adrien. “Thank you for seating us, if we need anything else, we’ll let you know.” Her voice dripped with false friendliness. 

Adrien bit his lip to keep from smiling to wide. 

Marinette made a move to sit across from him. 

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re going to sit right here.” He patted the seat next to him, “I need my protective Ladybug to defend me from sleezey hostesses.” 

Mari’s face lit up pink. “Well, it’s just not fair that you have to constantly be ogled like someone’s wet dream. You should be able to go out with out people undressing you with their eyes.”

“I’d let you undress me.” Adrien flirted. 

“I would like to hope you find it different when I do it… Not that I have stripped you with my eyes or anything… and not that I haven’t…. Fuck’s sake.” Marinette flustered and her blush deepened. 

Adrien pulled her chair as close to his and it would physically go. He pushed the hair back over her shoulder so he could whisper into here ear. His voice was low and husky when he whispered in her ear, “You can do anything you want to me milady. You know I trust you.”

Marinette broke out into chills. Acting coy, she innocently placed her hand on his thigh. She would see how far he would let her take things. But she was going to be painfully slow about it. 

She smirked at him, it was her turn to whisper into his ear, “Just remember you asked for it.” Her voice was breathy and warm and sent a jolt through is body down to his cock. 

Oh, it was going to be a good night. 

Just then Marinette’s phone buzzed. Alya and Nino were out front and they would be in momentarily. A waitress came by and asked for their drink orders and if they wanted anything off the menu. Marinette ordered a vodka cranberry and Adrien ordered a double shot of bourbon on the rocks.

“We have a couple of people joining us, so if you would just leave the menu that would be great.” Marinette piped up. 

“I know what I want to eat, but I don’t think it’s on the menu.” Adrien kissed down Marinette’s exposed neck and down her shoulder to prove his point. 

Marinette took the opportunity to play dumb, she turned her big doe eyes up to face Adrien. “Oh, whatever do you mean Kitty, I’m sure that you can something to satiate your appetite.” 

At the same time she slipped her hand his leg and landed it square on his cock maintaining eye contact the whole time. Making gentle, minute motions that no one would pick up on. She held his gaze as she felt him grow under her touch. 

“You don’t play fair do you, milady?” Adrien’s voice was thick. 

“I only play to win Chaton.” She smirked.

It was at that moment that Alya and Nino showed up. 

Marinette kept her hand where it was and raised her free hand and motioned their friends over. Adrien knew that if he stood up to greet them, he would be sporting a very obvious erection. So he chose to wave instead. 

“Hey guys! How are you? It’s been a while since we’ve seen you Adrien.” Alya was so full of life and looked stunning in the a-symmetrical, plum colored dress that she wore. 

Marinette spoke first, “Oh, we are doing great, just talking about how the creepy waitstaff won’t stop undressing Adrien with their eyes.

Nino laughed, “Can you blame them? My boy is hot!”

Adrien laughed. “Not as hot as you bro. How’s it going? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

The four friends settled into easy conversation and the food and drinks flowed. 

Marinette stood up to find the ladies room and Alya offered to go with her. 

Adrien, for one, was so thankful for the reprieve. He didn’t know how much more teasing he could take. He shifted in his seat to rearrange his cock. He tried not to make it too obvious.

The girls found the bathroom and Alya just beamed at Marinette, even with the slight buzz Mari knew that Alya had something she wanted to say. “Spill it.” 

Alya choked up, “Mari, I’m just so happy for you. You seem so confident and sure of yourself. This is the most comfortable I’ve seen you on a date in a long time. You and Adrien seem very attuned to each other. Like you are attuned to him so well, like partners. I know that you’re like 4 minutes into your relationship, but I wish you nothing but the best. Both of you are just so beautiful and I love you so much. You guys are my ship. I’m so happy to see you guys finally testing the waters.” The blubbering girl wrapped her arms around Marinette and cried happy tears.

Mari held her, “Thank you Alya. I love you too.”

You know what they say about drunk girls in the bathroom, they really are the most loving humans on the planet.

Out at the table their waitress came by and asked Adrien if they guys needed anything. Their drinks were mostly full, so the guys said no. But she left an extra napkin. Adrien rolled his eyes and knowing what it was and threw it on the ground below them. Nino raised a brow in his direction.

“Are we gonna talk about your terrible table manners…. Or?” Nino asked still perplexed. 

“Just another waitress that can see I’m literally on a fucking date, but feels compelled to leave her number with me. As if that ever works.” It annoyed Adrien. He could be objectified all day, that was literally his fucking job. But to be so rude to Marinette, he refused to partake in it. 

“So, you and Mari huh?” Nino’s relaxed voice was only enhanced by the liquor. 

Adrien smiled, “Yeah, me and Mari. Who would have thought, right?” 

“Honestly, I had been hoping for a while. She’s had a crush on you for ages.” Nino grinned. “Alya used to tell me everything and then she swore me to secrecy so I couldn’t say anything. The dumb things you do for love huh?”

Adrien took a sip of his drink. He really had been that blind to Marinette’s affection. That made him feel guilty. But now he had all the time in the world to make up for it. At least he hoped. 

The girls made it back to the table. Marinette took her seat, her hand once again placed right on Adrien’s dick. Right back to trying, and almost succeeding at turning him inside out at the table. 

Alya sat up straight as if she had been struck by lightning. “Let’s get out on the dance floor!”

Adrien looked at Marinette and the sea of people on the dancefloor. If he were upright, and could hide in a pile of gyrating bodies, he could tease Marinette back and not be at his current disadvantage he was at. 

“Absolutely, let’s go.” Adrien spoke up in agreement.

Marinette looked wounded. She’d been having fun playing her game.

Adrien grabbed Mari’s hand and pulled her back to his chest. He lowered his lips to her ear, “Two can play at your little game, Mari. Just wait.”

A shiver shot through her. What could he be planning to if they were on the dance floor surrounded by so many people? Part of her was terrified to find out, part of her was exhilarated.

***

For the second night in a row, Adrien and Marinette danced too close together among a sea of people. Only this time, the friendly flirtation was gone. This was real passion and heat exchanged between the pair. 

Alya and Nino were already captivated by each other. They had basically morphed into one person and were all over each other, heavy petting and lots of making out. She had seen it a thousand times before. Marinette knew that once that couple was on the dance floor, they all but fucked.

Marinette felt more comfortable on this dance floor than she had the previous night. She was used to going out with Alya and Nino. Seeing as Nino was a dee-jay, she had been to her fair share of clubs and bars. Her and Alya would always dance together and look out for each other. But it was always so much fun. Tonight was different though. Nino wasn’t at work and Adrien was her dance partner. 

Adrien pulled Marinette close to his and ground his body against hers not able to get close enough to her. His hands raked up and down her body stopping at her ass and giving her sweet cheeks more than one squeeze. With Marinette pressed so close to his body, all he could see was her. 

She was absolutely stunning in her carefree state. Her blue bell eyes were shinning bright, her red lips were delectable. Her cheeks were slightly pink with the flush of alcohol. Her short red dress popped off her beautiful pale skin and accentuated her long legs and narrow waist. Her long, silky, midnight hair flowed around her shoulders. She was the vision of a goddess in her own right and he never wanted to look at anything else. 

When Adrien pulled her into his body Marinette knew she was in trouble. His eyes stared down at her hungrily. She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him with an equal amount of passion. She could feel his body react to her kiss. She felt his cock straining against her belly. She slipped a hand down to rub him through his pants… but Adrien caught her hand. “Remember what I said about two playing your game? You don’t get to touch me right now. It’s my turn to light you on fire.”

He pulled Mari against him and slipped one discrete hand under dress under the hem of her dress. He found the lace of her panties quickly and started tracing his fingers along the seam of the underwear. He separated her willing legs slightly and found a damp spot. He looked her in the eye as he slid the lace to side and gauged her expression. Her eyes were large as she bit her lip.

“Don’t stop.” Was all she whimpered in his ear.

And with that, he let his nimble fingers take over. He found her bundle of nerves as she buried her face into his chest, he rubbed lightly. He was going to drive her wild the same way she had him. He wasn’t going to let her off easily. He dipped a finger into her opening and found how wet she really was. His cock twitched with need.

“Hmm, hmm” Adrien’s chest rumbled as he chuckled and pulled the lace back into place and returned her dress back to normal.

Marinette had her hands twisted into Adrien’s shirt as she panted against his touch. She had just started to really enjoy herself. Now he’d stopped. How was that fair?

She looked at him accusingly, “I said don’t stop, not please stop.” 

He just grinned at her. “Are you ready to get out of here? I think I’m ready for that dessert that you promised me.”

Marinette nodded breathlessly. 

Adrien pulled out his phone and sent for an Uber while Mari tried to pry Nino and Alya apart, emphasis on tried. She did get some hand signals to Alya indicating that she and Adrien were leaving. Alya gave her a thumbs up and a wink and went back to her fiancé who was kissing down her neck leaving a trail of love bites that was going to leave her friend wearing scarfs for a weak.

Adrien led Marinett back to their table while they waited. There were other perks of being in the darkest corner than just being away from fans. And that was that he could pick Mari up and place her in a barstool while she wrapped her arms around him. She sat at the edge of her seat and pushed her hips into his. The skirt of her dress swung out of the way and he caught a glimpse of the black lace she was wearing under it. He growled in response. 

He pulled up from the kiss for air as he felt his phone vibrate. It was the alert that their ride was here.

“Marinette, are you ready to go? Our ride is here.” Adrien didn’t want to leave this moment, but he was ready to get her out of here.

Marinette met his gaze. It was likely the alcohol in her system, but she was more than ready to go back to her place. 

***   
The ride to her place was short but it was long enough to start to cool the burning fire between them. They kept the kissing to a minimum. It was just too uncomfortable to make out in front of a stranger. Especially one that was just trying to do their job. 

As she unlocked the door to her apartment, Marinette started to lose her nerve. 

“Hey Tikki,” Mari spoke to her kwami as she opened her purse, “Do you want to come out and over to your area?”

Tikki nodded, “Plagg can come hang out too!”

“Good idea, Plagg.” Adrien spoke as he let his kwami out of his pocket. 

Plagg floated over to Tikki, “LB mentioned something about having cheese…” 

“Oh Plagg, give it a break. We all know you’re not starving…” 

The kwamis floated off together into Tikki’s mini apartment. 

Marinette and Adrien watched their kwamis banter back and forth for a minute.

Mari giggled, “He really is something huh?”

She tried to pretend that she was still the confident woman that has so boldly had her hands all over Adrien at the bar. But the façade was fading fast and it was only a matter of time before Adrien caught on. 

“I made a stop at the bakery today.. I got some of your favorites!” She pulled the box of macarons out. “But, it is going to cost you.”

“Oh no, what ever shall I do?” Adrien clutched at his heart as if she had wounded him.

She put one of the macarons in between her teeth and looked up at him with a sparkle in her eye. He knew what she wanted him to do, and he was more than happy to oblige. He leaned down as if to kiss her and took a bite out of the delicate treat.

“Almost as sweet as you, milady.” Adrien’s smile held a genuine warmth that calmed some of her nerves. But she really needed to get this off her chest. 

“Adrien…” She looked at his chest while she spoke. She didn’t want to meet his eyes and see the disappointment in them. Dammit this was so much easier in her head. Why couldn’t he read her mind? “Adrien, I don’t think I can… I feel like such a tease and an asshole… I know in the bar I was bolder… and you probably have expectations-”

Adrien cut her off, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” he held her face gently in his hands, “Please look at me.”

She looked up and met his gaze.

“Milady, I never want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable. Until you look me in the eye and explicitly state that you are ready, we don’t have to do anything that you aren’t comfortable with.” He wrapped her into a hug. His voice thickened he continued. “I have been in some situations that…” He didn’t want to think of that tight now. “Consent is something that I deeply value. I promise you, there is no pressure. Okay?”

Marinette left some tear stains on his shirt bust she didn’t let him go, “Thank you Adrien.”

“Now, do you want to watch a movie? Do you want me to leave? You’ve got to tell me what you want.” Adrien spoke lightly, but he hoped she didn’t ask him to leave just yet. 

Marinette thought for a moment. In a quiet voice she spoke, “Please don’t leave. I’d like you to stay the night… That is if you want to.”

Adrien smiled as he held her, “Of course I’ll stay.”

He kissed the top of her head. They stood in her kitchen holding each other.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually post content warnings, but there is mention of a character having a panic attack. Toward the end of the chapter there is a mention of sexual assault. It is not graphic, but it is in there. Please be warned before you proceed. 
> 
> Thank you guys! I hope that you are enjoying reading as much as I'm enjoying writing.

Marinette pulled away first. She was embarrassed that she had not only teased Adrien all night, but also because she cried into his chest on their first date.

“I’m sorry that I’m acting this way. It’s just… my anxiety flared up. I know its dumb because I’ve know you for ages, and it’s not like I’m a virgin or anything… But being with you… It’s different than anything else I’ve ever done.” Marinette sniffled. She tried and failed to meet Adrien’s eyes. 

Adrien let her speak. He knew she needed to get something off her chest.

Mari wrung her hands, “You’re the guy I had a crush on in high school. You are literally a world renowned model for fucks sake. You are so beautiful that every time I look at you my heart hurts a little… and I’m just Marinette. Daughter of a pastry chef and professional go-fer for your dad… And holy fuck..” She started to hyperventilate. She hadn’t thought of the consequences of her actions as far as work was concerned. 

Adrien walked her over to the couch and pulled her into his lap. He had seen his fair share of people have anxiety attacks before a shoot. Sometimes all a person needed was someone to talk to. 

“Oh my god… I hadn’t even though about what your dad or Nathalie are going to say. Fuck.. I could lose my job over this. Over you. You could get into so much trouble.” She started at him with wide eyes. Her heart was beating so hard that she thought it may explode. 

She paused. She needed to practice her grounding techniques before she was in a full blown panic attack.

She looked around the room. She found five things she could see.   
1\. She saw Adrien, tall, blond, handsome.  
2\. She saw the TV. It needed to be dusted.  
3\. She saw the coffee table. It was covered in design books and coffee mugs that needed to be returned to the kitchen.  
4\. She looked at the mannequin in the corner. A dress that she was in the middle of working on but never had time to finish clung to the figure.   
5\. She saw the picture of her parents on the wall that was taken when she first moved in.

Next she focused on things she could feel.  
1\. She felt Adrien’s warm arms around her body.  
2\. She felt that her heart that had already started to slow down.  
3\. She felt the uncomfortable way her bra was poking her didn’t help much.  
4\. How her shoes were beginning to get uncomfortable so she kicked them off.

Following feels, she needed to concentrate on things she could hear.  
1\. She heard Adrien’s steady breathing.  
2\. She heard the doors of her neighbors coming and going.  
3\. She could hear the kwamis grumbling in Tikki’s ‘apartment’.

After that came the things she could smell.  
1\. She could smell Adrien’s clean subtle fragrance, like clean laundry and expensive body wash.  
2\. She could smell the sweet aroma of macarons that were open on the counter.

Finally, she was at taste.   
1\. She could taste Adrien’s lips on her tongue. 

She leaned in and kissed him lightly. He kissed her back gently.

“You must think I’m a neurotic mess. I’m sorry I just stopped talking. My therapist taught me 5-4-3-2-1 grounding and most of the time it works to help stop panic attacks.” Marinette spoke quietly into Adrien’s chest. 

“Actually, I think you’re really brave. I could see how over whelmed you got. And your feelings are valid. You’re allowed to feel them. But now that you have calmed down a bit, do you want to talk about that?” Adrien kept his arms wrapped around Marinette.

“Can you give me a few minutes to think it out? I don’t want to say the wrong thing,” Marinette said thoughtfully as she chewed on her lower lip. 

“Take all the time you need, I’ll wait for you.” Adrien kissed her shoulder in a comforting way. 

They sat in a comfortable silence for a beats. 

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that,” Mari blushed, “in high school I put you on this unobtainable pedestal. That you would forever be The Adrien Agreste. That you would never be interested in me. You made it clear so many times that I was just a friend. It hurt for a while… But then we all moved onto different things. You went forward with your modeling career, I helped mama and papa at the bakery and became a ‘professional paid intern’,” Marinette made air quotes as she rolled her eyes.

“And now, I don’t even know if I will have my job come Monday because of all of this.” She waved her hand between the two of them. “I’m sure that your dad and Nathalie have seen the photo of us kissing at the event. I was supposed to make sure you made it to all of your appointments for the day. Not suck your face.”

“It just seems that you’re out of my league. I’m not a leggy beautiful model. You could seriously have anyone in the world.” She thought of bitter Voice One and frigid Voice Two. “Even the lovely staff at your apartment don’t understand it.” That garnered a confused look on Adrien’s face. “Some really enjoyable women at the front desk need to work on their ‘quiet’ voices.”

“But the twisted part is that you’re also my Chaton, my Chat Noir, my Kitty. You have seen me, Ladybug me, at my most vulnerable more times than I can count. It’s still just a lot to process. Don’t get me wrong. Finding out that you’re my partner feels so right. But I just wonder how I can possibly live up to your expectations of who Ladybug is supposed to be.”

Adrien had remained silent while Marinette spilled her guts. “Marinette, you have no idea how much I understand. You just called me The Adrien Agreste.” He chuckled. “I feel pressured all day, every day to be perfect. One hair out of place and I will hear about it for the rest of my life. That’s really not exaggeration, I’m still hearing about photoshoots from 10 years ago.” He rolled his eyes. 

“But I don’t expect anything from you. If you want to spend the rest of our lives cuddling, I understand. I just want you to be the truest most authentic version of yourself.” He smiled and thought about cuddling her. It warmed him to the core. 

“Forever ago, I called you our ‘everyday’ Ladybug. You are kind, charismatic, loving, and you give. You give your all to everything you do.” 

He grinned, “Maybe not that particular dress,” he pointed to the one on the mannequin, “but everything else, it gets your all.”

Marinette gave him a weak, teary smile. He pulled her tightly into his chest. “Milady, this is going to take some time to work through. Figuring out how to handle the Ladybug/Chat Noir situation can wait until tomorrow if you want. We can take this minute by minute to work through if you want. But I know I would like to work through it with you. As my partner, and maybe one day as more than a partner. When you’re ready of course.”

Marinette had gotten the reassurance she needed. It wasn’t Adrien having expectations of her. It had been hear anxiety screaming loudly into her ear and preying on her self doubt. The drinking probably hadn’t helped things either. She and Adrien would work through this together. 

“As long as we communicate, I have no doubt in my mind that we will get through all of the chaos.” Marinette whispered before she kissed him passionately. 

She shifted to straddle him and held his face in her hands. Adrien moved his hands to settle on her hips. She kissed his mouth and bit his bottom lip. He groaned into her mouth and pulled her hips closer into his. He started to get hard. All Marinette had to do was kiss him, and we was done for. Mari broke the kiss off to line kisses across his cheek bones. She made a trail of kisses down his jaw line. 

Adrien would take anything that Mari would give. If she didn’t want to have a sexual relationship right now, he didn’t even care. He had her. She filled him with happiness by simply existing. In the way that she heard the words he said and not just listening to his voice. How she was actually Ladybug, his super hero partner. She was a truly beautiful presence in his life. 

Marinette broke off the kiss and smiled at Adrien. “Thank you listening to me and not pressuring me for more. Now, to move onto a lighter subject. Do you want to watch some tv? Or just talk? Or we can go to bed? We can do whatever you want to do.” 

She stood and grabbed her shoes that were on the ground. “Either way, I’m going to go change.” I’ll be out in a minute.” She winked as she left the room.

He flopped into the couch and growled. “You’re not nice!”

How could she kiss him like that and then expect him to make decisions? His brain was mush and his dick was getting whiplash. The lid on the macarons was open so he stood to shut it. He placed the box of sweets where he had seen Mari pick it up from. As he put things away, he thought about what they could do. Mari was changing for the night. He didn’t really want to watch a movie. He shrugged out of his denim jacket and toed off his shoes. He left them in a pile beside her couch. Adrien checked the front door to make sure it was locked and before he headed to her room. 

Adrien knocked lightly on the door and asked, “Is it safe to come in?”

“Just a second.” After a brief pause Marinette pulled the door open and Adrien still couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. 

She stood before him in a white cotton tank top and a pair of pink boy shorts. Her hair was pulled into a braid and her face was freshly washed. The room was lit by twinkle lights that gave the room a soft romantic feel.

“Did you decide on a movie or cuddling?” Marinette asked.

Adrien stood in the door way while his brain short circuited. 

“Y- yeah,” he stuttered. He needed to get control of himself. He looked at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought if you were ok with it, we could just lay in bed…and talk a bit. Ya’ know?”

“Adrien,” Mari said as she reached for his hand, “that sounds perfect.” 

She dragged him over to the edge of her bed. “Now, I know that you don’t have anything to sleep in, so if you want I don’t mind if you just sleep in you underwear. I mean I did see you naked yesterday morning,” she laughed.

“Yeah. Sorry about that. I sleep in the nude. It’s more comfortable.” Adrien said with a smirk. Then he asked in a more serious voice, “Are you sure you’re ok with it?”

Mari smiled at him, “Yes, Chaton. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t sure. I trust you remember.” 

Her voice held so much conviction he knew it was true. She did trust him. And he would never do anything to lose that trust. 

He reached for the buttons on his shirt but Marinette’s hands were there first. 

“May I?” She asked looking up through her thick, dark lashes.

“Of course, milady.” He watched as she quickly worked through the buttons. She placed her hands on the broad muscles of his chest and traced her fingers down his abdomen. 

“Just because I don’t want to have sex with you tonight doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy this, right?” She popped up on her tiptoes and kissed him. 

Adrien wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground. He laid her gently on the bed. He straddled her legs and braced his weight above her. “As I said earlier, you can have whatever parts of me that you want.” 

He kissed her deeply. He was love drunk off just a few kisses. Mari wound her fingers into his hair and pulled his face closer into hers. He bit her bottom lip sucked on it for just a second. The gasp that came from Mari’s mouth made him weak. He wanted her to make sounds like that more often. 

He kissed down her cheek, nuzzled a trail down her neck, kissed across her collar bones. 

Adrien knew he had to stop, he just wanted to see one thing before he did. He laid his head onto her chest and found her heart. It thump-thumped in her chest. He closed his eyes and listened for a few beats. He wanted to memorize the sound, it was the most beautiful song he had ever heard. Marinette’s heartbeat. Ladybug’s heartbeat. The sound filled him with happiness to hear it.

He rolled to the side and his shirt fell open. “Your heart sound like it’s beating a bit fast, you may want to get that checked out sometime.” 

“Adrien,” Marinette rolled onto her elbow and shoved on his stomach. “That’s probably because there is a super-hot guy in my bed.” She laughed. 

Adrien sat up and looked around the room, “Where is he? I’ll fight him!”

“Oh my god! You’re such a dork!” Marinette couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. 

Adrien stood and slipped out of his shirt. He laid it on the floor next to the bed. He slipped his socks off and added them to the pile. Adrien watched Marinette’s face as unbuttoned his trousers. Her face was relaxed so he slipped them off and laid them with the rest of the clothes. He was thankful that he decided to wear black boxer briefs instead of his typical commando.

Marinette didn’t like the term ‘eye fucking’, but when Adrien Agreste undressed in front of you, there is nothing else you could do. He was fucking perfect. His messy blond hair was tousled from when her fingers had worked through it. He kept his green eyes locked on her while she took in his physique. His chest was muscular and his shoulders were broad. She could tell that he worked out but couldn’t get bulky because of his profession. And when he bent over to put his clothes in a pile, she bit her lip to refrain from growling out loud. The man had an a s s. 

Mari pulled the covers back as Adrien flopped into her bed. 

“Like what you see?” Adrien asked as he grinned and pulled her close. 

Marinette blushed hard. “I think it looks better clad in black leather, but this will do I guess.”

“So, what’s your favorite color?” Adrien asked breezily.

“Green.” Marinette shot back quickly then looked down. “Green… because it’s the color of Chat Noir’s eyes.” Her voice was bashful.

“Interesting. Mine is red. Red because of Ladybug’s suit.” Adrien kissed her nose. 

It was Mari’s turn for a question. “What is your favorite song?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Jester by Badflower.” Adrien replied. “What about you?”

“Almost anything by Taylor Swift. Gorgeous and invisible string are top two right now. Ask me tomorrow and my favorite song will be something else though.” She smiled at him

“Now this is a make or break question, so answer carefully.” Adrien’s tone was serious. “Does pineapple belong on pizza?”

“As someone who grew up in a bakery, I can totally understand why people do it, salty and sweet and all that. But it’s not for me personally?” Marinette replied tentatively.

Adrien sighed, “Fine, I’ll give you 50% credit for that answer.”

Marinette snorted. “So what is the correct answer.”

“NO!!! Pineapple DOES NOT go on pizza!! Why would anyone do something so treacherous?? They deserve to wear nothing but wet socks for the rest of their lives. And get stuck behind people who drive under the speed limit. And never be able to find pants that fit just right.” Adrien rambled on.

“Oh my god Adrien,” Marinette was belly laughing, “I promise I won’t make you eat pizza with pineapple on it!” 

“Sorry, I just feel very passionately about pineapple and pizza.” Adrien looked at Marinette, his eyes sparkled. “What is your favorite book?”

“Oh, please don’t make me answer that. There are too many to pick from. Can I just give you my favorite genera at the moment?” Marinette knew that picking a single book would be impossible. 

“Sure, so what are you reading? Wuthering Heights? The Hobbit? Ooo, I know. You’re a manga nerd.” Adrien nodded. 

He spoke so sure of himself that Mari was almost convinced that manga was her favorite. “No you dweeb. You’re thinking about your own book shelves, not mine. Right now I’m into poetry and prose. Specific writers, Nikita Gill, Rupi Kaur, and Atticus. Their words are powerful and impactful. What about you, what do you read when you have time?”

It was Adrien’s turn to blush, “You can’t judge me and I will never admit this to anyone ever again.”

Mari put up her pinky finger, “I promise I won’t judge you.”

Adrien linked his finger through hers and sighed deeply, “I read a lot of fanfic.”

Mari laughed, “That’s not so bad-”

“You didn’t let me finish,” Adrien interrupted her. “I read a lot of fanfic… about… fuck, do I really have to share?”

“Not unless you’re comfortable. You can tell me when you’re ready.” Marinette pecked his cheek.

Adrien covered his face with his free hand. “I read a lot of fanfic about Ladybug and Chat Noir. I know, talk about a narcissistic dick, right?”

Marinette broke into belly laughter again.

“You said you wouldn’t judge me! RUDE!” Adrien pulled his hand out of hers and pretended to pout while rolled away from her. 

“Adrien.” Marinette reached for his shoulder as she struggled to speak through her laughter. “I… Read… It… Too!” 

Adrien rolled to face her again. “You’re kidding me. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you read fanfic about us? Ok, next question. Fluff or smut?”

“Depends on the mood. If I’m having a bad day, fluff. If I am having a… lonely day, I read smut. What do you read?” Mari raised a brow at him.

“Oh, I read smut. So much smut. Some of those writers… man,” He blew through his lips. “They are creative… they should take up writing full time and write erotic fiction. By the way, we get into some shit in those fics, did you know there is one out there with us in space?”

Marinette laughed, “I have seen that one, but I have not committed to reading it yet.”

“It’s a fucking trip.” Adrien laughed.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few beats. 

Marinette spoke quietly, “If you could be anything in the world, what would you be?”

“Not a fucking model. That’s for sure.” Adrien’s voice was clipped and short. 

“If you want to skip that question, we can.” Marinette said. 

Adrien sighed. “I know you love fashion and designing things. And everything you make is beautiful. But the fashion industry is disturbing. Some of the things I’ve seen… Some of the things that have been done to me… I don’t know how people get away with the things that they do.” 

Marinette reached for his hand. “Hey, if you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to. I know that you have done this for a long time. That you’ve been exposed to things you shouldn’t have been.”

Adrien took a few minutes to collect himself. Should he really tell her? What would she think of him? He was a guy. This kind of thing didn’t happen to guys. He curled into her chest and held her tightly against him. “I don’t want to keep anything from you.”

His voice was muffled by her stomach, but she was able to hear what he was saying. Mari rolled so that she lay flat in the bed with Adrien across her chest. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head. 

It was easier to spill his guts to Marinette’s toes than it was to look her in the eye. At least then he wouldn’t have to see the judgment in her eyes. 

“A couple years ago I went to one of those stupid fucking charity events. There was this middle aged woman who wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone. I was barely 18. “Just Legal” as she called it. Like my youth was some kind of prize.” Adrien’s voice was bitter. “She wouldn’t keep her hands off of me. And I didn’t know what to do. No matter how many times I said no or tried to avoid her, she wouldn’t stop. She followed me into the bathroom and locked the door…I’ll spare you the details Mari. But it wasn’t good. I don’t wish that upon anyone. And it’s not just creepy Karens who have done shit like that to me. There have been women our age who have stalked me. Men on set that have been suggestive of what they would do with me if I went home with them…”

Marinette had tears in her eyes as she rubbed his back the way she did when Chat Noir was upset. 

“Adrien, I am extremely sorry. I don’t know what to say.” Mari’s voice was thick with tears. 

“Milady, I don’t expect you to say anything. It’s not your fault those things happened to me. But that’s why I would be literally anything other than a model. I’d scrub dishes at a restaurant if it meant I could get out of this industry. It’s like I have a symmetrical face and all of a sudden strangers are entitled to objectify and do whatever they want. Because of how I look. It’s disgusting.” 

Adrien continued to stare at Marinette’s toes. “You’re the only person I’ve ever told.” 

Marinette held onto Adrien as if he were a life preserver and she was in the middle of the ocean. Together they cried. Marinette cried for her best friend, her Chaton who had carried this secret for years. She cried for Adrien, a poor boy who shouldn’t of had to endure that.

Adrien cried because he finally felt the weight of a hideous secret be lifted off his chest. He cried because he blamed his father. If Gabriel hadn’t made him model, or attend that specific event then maybe he wouldn’t be so fucked up. 

It was well into the night before Adrien broke the silence.

“Do you think of me differently now?” He finally met Mari’s gaze. 

Marinette held his face in her hands as she spoke. “Adrien, I could never think of you differently. You are still a person I admire, accept, and care deeply for. I wish I could change the things that have happened to you, but I can’t. What I can do is tell you that you didn’t deserve the things that happened to you.” 

“Thank you.” Adrien said simply. 

They held each other tightly. Before they knew it, they were both asleep cuddled as close as they could possibly get.


End file.
